In 2025, fire departments serving Russellville responded to 106 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $400K building blaze. Here's the full picture.
Building fires lead by count. Building fires lead by dollars. Together the top five categories make up about 52% of all calls.
Mar peaks. Nov dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
643 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2022. $4.8M cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 98 | — | |
| 2022 | 170 | +73.5% | |
| 2023 | 121 | -28.8% | |
| 2024 | 148 | +22.3% | |
| 2025 | 106 | -28.4% |
For the 21 building fires Russellville departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 243 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 | 50 | 20.6% | |
| 2 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 29 | 11.9% | |
| 3 | Cooking area, kitchen | 21 | 8.6% | |
| 4 | Outside area, other | 21 | 8.6% | |
| 5 | Vehicle area, other | 19 | 7.8% | |
| 6 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 17 | 7.0% | |
| 7 | Other | 12 | 4.9% | |
| 8 | Wall surface: exterior | 5 | 2.1% | |
| 9 | Cargo/trunk area - all vehicles | 5 | 2.1% | |
| 10 | Railroad right of way: on or near | 5 | 2.1% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 59 | 24.3% |
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 Russellville mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 124 | 51.0% | |
| 2 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 18 | 7.4% | |
| 3 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 14 | 5.8% | |
| 4 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 11 | 4.5% | |
| 5 | Hot ember or ash | 11 | 4.5% | |
| 6 | Heat source: other | 9 | 3.7% | |
| 7 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 9 | 3.7% | |
| 8 | Arcing | 8 | 3.3% | |
| 9 | Heat, spark from friction | 6 | 2.5% | |
| 10 | Lightning | 5 | 2.1% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 28 | 11.5% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Russellville departments in 2025. These 8 fires alone account for 84% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $400,000 | Building fires | Major | Investigated |
| 2 | $325,000 | Off-road vehicle or heavy equipment fire | Major | Investigated |
| 3 | $300,000 | Building fires | Major | Investigated |
| 4 | $185,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 5 | $150,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 6 | $125,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 7 | $110,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 8 | $100,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Russellville sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 10,843 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1999 | Arson/incendiarism | 1,400 | 32.1 mi | |
| 2007 | Debris and open burning | 1,200 | 32.1 mi | |
| 2004 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 1,050 | 33.0 mi | |
| 2000 | Arson/incendiarism | 584 | 46.0 mi | |
| 2007 | Debris and open burning | 570 | 30.9 mi | |
| 2005 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 517 | 36.8 mi | |
| 2004 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 500 | 32.0 mi | |
| 2001 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 500 | 34.3 mi | |
| 2007 | Debris and open burning | 450 | 30.6 mi | |
| 2003 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 400 | 33.5 mi | |
| 1999 | Equipment and vehicle use | 400 | 43.9 mi | |
| 2005 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 300 | 35.7 mi |
Top 4 ZIP codes by NFIRS incident count across 2021–2025. Each ZIP has its own fire profile — dive in for neighborhood-level context.
Six Kentucky cities with population within ±25% of Russellville. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
1 departments report to NFIRS for incidents in Russellville.
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.