In 2025, fire departments serving Union responded to 103 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $2K 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 53% of all calls.
Mar peaks. Dec dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
587 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2022. $1.2M cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 112 | — | |
| 2022 | 127 | +13.4% | |
| 2023 | 126 | -0.8% | |
| 2024 | 119 | -5.6% | |
| 2025 | 103 | -13.4% |
For the 16 building fires Union departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 178 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 | 42 | 23.6% | |
| 2 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 21 | 11.8% | |
| 3 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 19 | 10.7% | |
| 4 | Cooking area, kitchen | 15 | 8.4% | |
| 5 | Wildland, woods | 12 | 6.7% | |
| 6 | Undetermined | 11 | 6.2% | |
| 7 | Highway, parking lot, street: on or near | 6 | 3.4% | |
| 8 | Courtyard, patio, porch, terrace | 5 | 2.8% | |
| 9 | Other | 4 | 2.2% | |
| 10 | Common room, den, family room, living room, lounge | 4 | 2.2% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 39 | 21.9% |
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 Union mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 75 | 42.1% | |
| 2 | Hot ember or ash | 14 | 7.9% | |
| 3 | Cigarette lighter | 13 | 7.3% | |
| 4 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 12 | 6.7% | |
| 5 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 11 | 6.2% | |
| 6 | Cigarette | 11 | 6.2% | |
| 7 | Heat source: other | 7 | 3.9% | |
| 8 | Arcing | 6 | 3.4% | |
| 9 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 6 | 3.4% | |
| 10 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 5 | 2.8% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 18 | 10.1% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Union departments in 2025. These 2 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $2,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 2 | $500 | Dumpster or other outside trash receptacle fire | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Union sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 3,793 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010 | Arson/incendiarism | 870 | 40.3 mi | |
| 2010 | Arson/incendiarism | 450 | 40.2 mi | |
| 2004 | Arson/incendiarism | 354 | 41.2 mi | |
| 2003 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 300 | 40.6 mi | |
| 2011 | Arson/incendiarism | 280 | 39.7 mi | |
| 2015 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 220 | 40.3 mi | |
| 2001 | Arson/incendiarism | 200 | 40.5 mi | |
| 2020 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 182 | 40.4 mi | |
| 2011 | Arson/incendiarism | 100 | 40.4 mi | |
| 2009 | Debris and open burning | 97 | 47.6 mi | |
| 2018 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 74 | 40.3 mi | |
| 2020 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 72 | 40.5 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 Union. 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.