In 2025, fire departments serving Rockvale responded to 35 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $30K building blaze. Here's the full picture.
Unauthorized burning lead by count. Building fires lead by dollars. Together the top five categories make up about 72% of all calls.
Dec peaks. Jan dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
239 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2022. $2.4M cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 44 | — | |
| 2022 | 68 | +54.5% | |
| 2023 | 53 | -22.1% | |
| 2024 | 39 | -26.4% | |
| 2025 | 35 | -10.3% |
For the 2 building fires Rockvale departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 66 building fires investigators classified across 2021–2025. The room or location where ignition occurred — kitchens, bedrooms, exterior, vehicle areas — tells you where to focus prevention.
| # | Area of origin | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 24 | 36.4% | |
| 2 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 10 | 15.2% | |
| 3 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 8 | 12.1% | |
| 4 | Outside area, other | 6 | 9.1% | |
| 5 | Vehicle storage area; garage, carport | 4 | 6.1% | |
| 6 | Other | 3 | 4.5% | |
| 7 | Bedroom - < 5 persons; included are jail or prison | 2 | 3.0% | |
| 8 | Cooking area, kitchen | 2 | 3.0% | |
| 9 | Multiple areas | 2 | 3.0% | |
| 10 | Bathroom, checkroom, lavatory, locker room | 1 | 1.5% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 4 | 6.1% |
NFIRS Heat Source (HEAT_SOURC) — the physical thing that started it. Spark or ember from operating equipment, an open flame, smoking materials, or hot embers from a fireplace are the leading culprits nationwide. Here's the Rockvale mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 34 | 51.5% | |
| 2 | Hot ember or ash | 7 | 10.6% | |
| 3 | Arcing | 5 | 7.6% | |
| 4 | Cigarette lighter | 4 | 6.1% | |
| 5 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 3 | 4.5% | |
| 6 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 3 | 4.5% | |
| 7 | Heat source: other | 2 | 3.0% | |
| 8 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 2 | 3.0% | |
| 9 | Heat spread from another fire, other | 2 | 3.0% | |
| 10 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 1 | 1.5% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 3 | 4.5% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Rockvale departments in 2025. These 2 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $30,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 2 | $1 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Rockvale sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 4,273 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2014 | Arson/incendiarism | 748 | 47.5 mi | |
| 2016 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 328 | 13.3 mi | |
| 2006 | Arson/incendiarism | 286 | 49.2 mi | |
| 2001 | Equipment and vehicle use | 225 | 46.3 mi | |
| 2013 | Arson/incendiarism | 224 | 49.1 mi | |
| 2009 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 191 | 35.6 mi | |
| 2001 | Arson/incendiarism | 178 | 49.1 mi | |
| 2014 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 170 | 8.7 mi | |
| 1998 | Natural | 153 | 45.3 mi | |
| 2001 | Arson/incendiarism | 143 | 36.5 mi | |
| 2010 | Arson/incendiarism | 131 | 48.8 mi | |
| 1999 | Arson/incendiarism | 130 | 49.1 mi |
Top 5 ZIP codes by NFIRS incident count across 2021–2025. Each ZIP has its own fire profile — dive in for neighborhood-level context.
Six Tennessee cities with population within ±25% of Rockvale. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
1 departments report to NFIRS for incidents in Rockvale.
A 30-minute weekend can cut your home's exposure substantially. These four checklists are a good starting point.
Numbers reflect incidents reported by participating fire departments to the National Fire Incident Reporting System (NFIRS) Public Data Release for calendar year 2025. NFIRS is voluntary — about 23,000 of roughly 30,000 US fire departments report — so totals are a strong indicator, not a complete census. Per-capita comparisons use 2023 ACS population estimates. Wildland fire data complements NFIRS with NIFC and USFS perimeters. Active-fire counts come from a dated NIFC snapshot, not a live feed.