In 2025, fire departments serving Science Hill responded to 39 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $300K 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 74% of all calls.
Jul peaks. Jan dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
171 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2023. $856K cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021* | 12 | — | |
| 2022 | 32 | — | |
| 2023 | 50 | +56.2% | |
| 2024 | 38 | -24.0% | |
| 2025 | 39 | +2.6% |
* Well below Science Hill's usual volume. That almost always means one or more departments didn't submit a full year to NFIRS, not that fires dropped, so no year-over-year change is shown for it.
For the 11 building fires Science Hill departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 79 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 | 28 | 35.4% | |
| 2 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 9 | 11.4% | |
| 3 | Storage area, other | 4 | 5.1% | |
| 4 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 4 | 5.1% | |
| 5 | Outside area, other | 4 | 5.1% | |
| 6 | Highway, parking lot, street: on or near | 4 | 5.1% | |
| 7 | Cooking area, kitchen | 3 | 3.8% | |
| 8 | Vehicle storage area; garage, carport | 3 | 3.8% | |
| 9 | Common room, den, family room, living room, lounge | 2 | 2.5% | |
| 10 | Bedroom - < 5 persons; included are jail or prison | 2 | 2.5% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 16 | 20.3% |
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 Science Hill mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 57 | 72.2% | |
| 2 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 4 | 5.1% | |
| 3 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 3 | 3.8% | |
| 4 | Hot ember or ash | 3 | 3.8% | |
| 5 | Heat source: other | 2 | 2.5% | |
| 6 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 2 | 2.5% | |
| 7 | Arcing | 2 | 2.5% | |
| 8 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 1 | 1.3% | |
| 9 | Heat from other open flame or smoking materials | 1 | 1.3% | |
| 10 | Cigarette | 1 | 1.3% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 3 | 3.8% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Science Hill departments in 2025. These 3 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $300,000 | Road freight or transport vehicle fire | Major | Investigated |
| 2 | $40,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $50 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Science Hill sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 33,682 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2005 | Arson/incendiarism | 2,537 | 6.8 mi | |
| 2000 | Arson/incendiarism | 2,500 | 47.8 mi | |
| 2016 | Debris and open burning | 2,146 | 49.2 mi | |
| 1999 | Arson/incendiarism | 2,100 | 47.3 mi | |
| 2000 | Arson/incendiarism | 2,079 | 36.1 mi | |
| 2001 | Arson/incendiarism | 2,000 | 47.5 mi | |
| 2000 | Arson/incendiarism | 1,952 | 27.6 mi | |
| 2001 | Arson/incendiarism | 1,696 | 48.8 mi | |
| 2005 | Arson/incendiarism | 1,555 | 44.4 mi | |
| 2000 | Arson/incendiarism | 1,536 | 46.8 mi | |
| 2000 | Arson/incendiarism | 1,026 | 43.6 mi | |
| 2001 | Arson/incendiarism | 1,000 | 32.8 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 Science Hill. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
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.