In 2025, fire departments serving Rutledge responded to 32 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $30K 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 81% of all calls.
Apr peaks. May dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
184 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2021. $1.9M cumulative property loss. 1 civilian deaths.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 53 | — | |
| 2022 | 43 | -18.9% | |
| 2023 | 31 | -27.9% | |
| 2024 | 25 | -19.4% | |
| 2025 | 32 | +28.0% |
For the 19 building fires Rutledge departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 41 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 | 33 | 80.5% | |
| 2 | Ceiling & floor assembly, crawl space b/t stories | 2 | 4.9% | |
| 3 | Other | 1 | 2.4% | |
| 4 | Laundry area, wash house (laundry) | 1 | 2.4% | |
| 5 | Machinery room or area; elevator machinery room | 1 | 2.4% | |
| 6 | Attic: vacant, crawl space above top story, cupola | 1 | 2.4% | |
| 7 | Vehicle area, other | 1 | 2.4% | |
| 8 | Exterior, exposed surface | 1 | 2.4% |
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 Rutledge mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 36 | 87.8% | |
| 2 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 1 | 2.4% | |
| 3 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 1 | 2.4% | |
| 4 | Arcing | 1 | 2.4% | |
| 5 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 1 | 2.4% | |
| 6 | Conducted heat from another fire | 1 | 2.4% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Rutledge 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 | $300 | Fire in motor home, camper, recreational vehicle | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Rutledge sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 101,068 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | Misuse of fire by a minor | 17,140 | 44.7 mi | |
| 2016 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 10,586 | 40.2 mi | |
| 2000 | Arson/incendiarism | 8,134 | 41.3 mi | |
| 2016 | Recreation and ceremony | 7,400 | 49.9 mi | |
| 2016 | Arson/incendiarism | 5,964 | 48.4 mi | |
| 2000 | Arson/incendiarism | 4,700 | 36.3 mi | |
| 2000 | Arson/incendiarism | 4,040 | 27.5 mi | |
| 2000 | Arson/incendiarism | 3,860 | 30.5 mi | |
| 2000 | Arson/incendiarism | 3,675 | 34.9 mi | |
| 2000 | Arson/incendiarism | 3,539 | 44.4 mi | |
| 2000 | Arson/incendiarism | 2,944 | 48.4 mi | |
| 2001 | Arson/incendiarism | 2,943 | 45.3 mi |
Top 3 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 Rutledge. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
1 departments report to NFIRS for incidents in Rutledge.
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.