In 2025, fire departments serving Shively responded to 57 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $60K 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 58% of all calls.
Jan peaks. Jun dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
296 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2022. $2.8M cumulative property loss. 1 civilian deaths.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 53 | — | |
| 2022 | 71 | +34.0% | |
| 2023 | 55 | -22.5% | |
| 2024 | 60 | +9.1% | |
| 2025 | 57 | -5.0% |
For the 12 building fires Shively departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 31 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 | 8 | 25.8% | |
| 2 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 5 | 16.1% | |
| 3 | Bedroom - 5+ persons; including barrack/dormitory | 2 | 6.5% | |
| 4 | Cooking area, kitchen | 2 | 6.5% | |
| 5 | Attic: vacant, crawl space above top story, cupola | 2 | 6.5% | |
| 6 | Corridor, mall | 1 | 3.2% | |
| 7 | Common room, den, family room, living room, lounge | 1 | 3.2% | |
| 8 | Bedroom - < 5 persons; included are jail or prison | 1 | 3.2% | |
| 9 | Bathroom, checkroom, lavatory, locker room | 1 | 3.2% | |
| 10 | Technical processing areas, other | 1 | 3.2% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 7 | 22.6% |
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 Shively mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 21 | 67.7% | |
| 2 | Heat source: other | 3 | 9.7% | |
| 3 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 3 | 9.7% | |
| 4 | Arcing | 2 | 6.5% | |
| 5 | Heat from other open flame or smoking materials | 1 | 3.2% | |
| 6 | Flame/torch used for lighting | 1 | 3.2% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Shively departments in 2025. These 8 fires alone account for 96% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $60,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 2 | $54,620 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $50,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 4 | $40,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 5 | $15,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 6 | $10,000 | Mobile property (vehicle) fire, other | Significant | Investigated |
| 7 | $10,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 8 | $6,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Shively sits below the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 2,899 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2004 | Arson/incendiarism | 354 | 39.3 mi | |
| 2010 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 250 | 14.1 mi | |
| 2010 | Railroad operations and maintenance | 215 | 46.4 mi | |
| 1999 | Smoking | 201 | 40.8 mi | |
| 1999 | Arson/incendiarism | 157 | 32.1 mi | |
| 2010 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 144 | 16.0 mi | |
| 2007 | Railroad operations and maintenance | 117 | 40.0 mi | |
| 2004 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 100 | 48.1 mi | |
| 2009 | Debris and open burning | 97 | 37.0 mi | |
| 2014 | Debris and open burning | 95 | 38.6 mi | |
| 2018 | Debris and open burning | 95 | 26.9 mi | |
| 2008 | Railroad operations and maintenance | 94 | 40.4 mi |
Top 6 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 Shively. 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.