In 2025, fire departments serving Rutherford responded to 25 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $90K 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 60% of all calls.
Mar peaks. Oct dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
144 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2021. $445K cumulative property loss. 1 civilian deaths.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 34 | — | |
| 2022 | 34 | +0.0% | |
| 2023 | 29 | -14.7% | |
| 2024 | 22 | -24.1% | |
| 2025 | 25 | +13.6% |
For the 5 building fires Rutherford departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 45 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 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 9 | 20.0% | |
| 2 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 7 | 15.6% | |
| 3 | Cooking area, kitchen | 4 | 8.9% | |
| 4 | Undetermined | 4 | 8.9% | |
| 5 | Storage area, other | 3 | 6.7% | |
| 6 | Vehicle area, other | 2 | 4.4% | |
| 7 | Outside area, other | 2 | 4.4% | |
| 8 | Wildland, woods | 2 | 4.4% | |
| 9 | Corridor, mall | 1 | 2.2% | |
| 10 | Common room, den, family room, living room, lounge | 1 | 2.2% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 10 | 22.2% |
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 Rutherford mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 20 | 44.4% | |
| 2 | Arcing | 6 | 13.3% | |
| 3 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 3 | 6.7% | |
| 4 | Hot ember or ash | 3 | 6.7% | |
| 5 | Cigarette lighter | 3 | 6.7% | |
| 6 | Heat source: other | 2 | 4.4% | |
| 7 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 2 | 4.4% | |
| 8 | Heat, spark from friction | 1 | 2.2% | |
| 9 | Heat from undetermined smoking material | 1 | 2.2% | |
| 10 | Match | 1 | 2.2% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 3 | 6.7% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Rutherford departments in 2025. These 3 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $90,391 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 2 | $3,750 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $3,500 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Rutherford sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 4,221 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1999 | Railroad operations and maintenance | 500 | 37.1 mi | |
| 2006 | Debris and open burning | 400 | 18.4 mi | |
| 2010 | Arson/incendiarism | 316 | 35.9 mi | |
| 2007 | Smoking | 311 | 48.2 mi | |
| 2004 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 235 | 47.0 mi | |
| 2007 | Railroad operations and maintenance | 227 | 45.4 mi | |
| 2010 | Debris and open burning | 175 | 33.2 mi | |
| 2000 | Debris and open burning | 168 | 15.4 mi | |
| 1999 | Arson/incendiarism | 147 | 44.2 mi | |
| 2000 | Debris and open burning | 143 | 20.0 mi | |
| 2000 | Debris and open burning | 140 | 30.3 mi | |
| 1999 | Arson/incendiarism | 139 | 44.8 mi |
Top 7 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 Rutherford. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
1 departments report to NFIRS for incidents in Rutherford.
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.