In 2025, fire departments serving Strawberry Plains responded to 28 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $130K 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 82% of all calls.
Mar peaks. May dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
187 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2021. $818K cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 45 | — | |
| 2022 | 42 | -6.7% | |
| 2023 | 37 | -11.9% | |
| 2024 | 35 | -5.4% | |
| 2025 | 28 | -20.0% |
For the 10 building fires Strawberry Plains departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 72 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 | 32 | 44.4% | |
| 2 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 5 | 6.9% | |
| 3 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 5 | 6.9% | |
| 4 | Cooking area, kitchen | 4 | 5.6% | |
| 5 | Outside area, other | 4 | 5.6% | |
| 6 | Other | 3 | 4.2% | |
| 7 | Bedroom - < 5 persons; included are jail or prison | 3 | 4.2% | |
| 8 | Vehicle area, other | 3 | 4.2% | |
| 9 | Wildland, woods | 3 | 4.2% | |
| 10 | Common room, den, family room, living room, lounge | 2 | 2.8% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 8 | 11.1% |
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 Strawberry Plains mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 48 | 66.7% | |
| 2 | Heat source: other | 4 | 5.6% | |
| 3 | Hot ember or ash | 3 | 4.2% | |
| 4 | Cigarette | 3 | 4.2% | |
| 5 | Heat spread from another fire, other | 3 | 4.2% | |
| 6 | Arcing | 2 | 2.8% | |
| 7 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 2 | 2.8% | |
| 8 | Heat from other open flame or smoking materials | 2 | 2.8% | |
| 9 | Cigarette lighter | 2 | 2.8% | |
| 10 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 1 | 1.4% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 2 | 2.8% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Strawberry Plains departments in 2025. These 6 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $130,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 2 | $125,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $40,000 | Road freight or transport vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 4 | $23,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 5 | $500 | Fire, other | Significant | Investigated |
| 6 | $500 | Outside rubbish, trash or waste fire | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Strawberry Plains sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 106,980 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 | 31.6 mi | |
| 2016 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 10,586 | 40.8 mi | |
| 2000 | Arson/incendiarism | 8,134 | 37.5 mi | |
| 2016 | Arson/incendiarism | 7,788 | 48.1 mi | |
| 2001 | Arson/incendiarism | 7,580 | 40.0 mi | |
| 2016 | Arson/incendiarism | 5,964 | 49.1 mi | |
| 2000 | Arson/incendiarism | 4,700 | 44.3 mi | |
| 2000 | Arson/incendiarism | 4,040 | 35.0 mi | |
| 2000 | Arson/incendiarism | 3,860 | 46.1 mi | |
| 2000 | Arson/incendiarism | 3,675 | 43.8 mi | |
| 2001 | Arson/incendiarism | 3,200 | 38.7 mi | |
| 2000 | Arson/incendiarism | 2,944 | 39.5 mi |
Top 2 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 Strawberry Plains. 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.