In 2025, fire departments serving Signal Mountain responded to 93 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $65K building blaze. Here's the full picture.
Power line down lead by count. Building fires lead by dollars. Together the top five categories make up about 56% of all calls.
Mar peaks. Dec dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
448 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2023. $3.1M cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 66 | — | |
| 2022 | 90 | +36.4% | |
| 2023 | 106 | +17.8% | |
| 2024 | 93 | -12.3% | |
| 2025 | 93 | +0.0% |
For the 4 building fires Signal Mountain 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 | Outside area, other | 16 | 20.3% | |
| 2 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 12 | 15.2% | |
| 3 | Wildland, woods | 10 | 12.7% | |
| 4 | Undetermined | 7 | 8.9% | |
| 5 | Cooking area, kitchen | 5 | 6.3% | |
| 6 | Common room, den, family room, living room, lounge | 4 | 5.1% | |
| 7 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 3 | 3.8% | |
| 8 | Other | 2 | 2.5% | |
| 9 | Duct: hvac, cable, exhaust, heating, or AC | 2 | 2.5% | |
| 10 | Substructure area or space, crawl space | 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 Signal Mountain mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 24 | 30.4% | |
| 2 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 11 | 13.9% | |
| 3 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 9 | 11.4% | |
| 4 | Hot ember or ash | 7 | 8.9% | |
| 5 | Arcing | 6 | 7.6% | |
| 6 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 4 | 5.1% | |
| 7 | Cigarette lighter | 4 | 5.1% | |
| 8 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 3 | 3.8% | |
| 9 | Heat from other open flame or smoking materials | 2 | 2.5% | |
| 10 | Lightning | 2 | 2.5% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 7 | 8.9% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Signal Mountain departments in 2025. These 8 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $65,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 2 | $50,000 | Building or structure weakened or collapsed | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $10,000 | Outside rubbish, trash or waste fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 4 | $5,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 5 | $5,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 6 | $5,000 | Off-road vehicle or heavy equipment fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 7 | $4,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 8 | $1,500 | Natural vegetation fire, other | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Signal Mountain sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 62,686 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | Natural | 27,870 | 47.6 mi | |
| 2016 | Debris and open burning | 2,836 | 30.7 mi | |
| 1999 | Arson/incendiarism | 2,480 | 30.9 mi | |
| 2016 | Recreation and ceremony | 2,083 | 29.0 mi | |
| 2001 | Arson/incendiarism | 2,080 | 23.0 mi | |
| 2001 | Arson/incendiarism | 2,035 | 13.1 mi | |
| 2016 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 2,018 | 32.5 mi | |
| 2016 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 2,000 | 35.4 mi | |
| 2001 | Arson/incendiarism | 1,747 | 13.1 mi | |
| 2012 | Power generation/transmission/distribution | 1,600 | 44.4 mi | |
| 2001 | Arson/incendiarism | 1,560 | 19.9 mi | |
| 1999 | Equipment and vehicle use | 1,281 | 29.3 mi |
Top 1 ZIP codes by NFIRS incident count across 2021–2025. Each ZIP has its own fire profile — dive in for neighborhood-level context.
| # | ZIP | 5-yr incidents | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 37377 | 448 |
Six Tennessee cities with population within ±25% of Signal Mountain. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
3 departments report to NFIRS for incidents in Signal Mountain.
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.