In 2025, fire departments serving Vine Grove responded to 104 fire and hazmat incidents . Here's the full picture.
Building fires lead by count. Building fires lead by dollars. Together the top five categories make up about 56% of all calls.
Jan peaks. Nov dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
505 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2023. $376K cumulative property loss. 1 civilian deaths.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 92 | — | |
| 2022 | 105 | +14.1% | |
| 2023 | 118 | +12.4% | |
| 2024 | 86 | -27.1% | |
| 2025 | 104 | +20.9% |
For the 21 building fires Vine Grove departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 212 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 | 63 | 29.7% | |
| 2 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 31 | 14.6% | |
| 3 | Undetermined | 30 | 14.2% | |
| 4 | Other | 10 | 4.7% | |
| 5 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 10 | 4.7% | |
| 6 | Wildland, woods | 9 | 4.2% | |
| 7 | Structural area, other | 7 | 3.3% | |
| 8 | Vehicle area, other | 6 | 2.8% | |
| 9 | Function area, other | 4 | 1.9% | |
| 10 | Cooking area, kitchen | 4 | 1.9% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 38 | 17.9% |
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 Vine Grove mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 115 | 54.2% | |
| 2 | Heat source: other | 19 | 9.0% | |
| 3 | Match | 15 | 7.1% | |
| 4 | Arcing | 11 | 5.2% | |
| 5 | Hot ember or ash | 9 | 4.2% | |
| 6 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 6 | 2.8% | |
| 7 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 6 | 2.8% | |
| 8 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 6 | 2.8% | |
| 9 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 6 | 2.8% | |
| 10 | Cigarette lighter | 3 | 1.4% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 16 | 7.5% |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Vine Grove sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 4,205 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | Arson/incendiarism | 584 | 38.6 mi | |
| 1999 | Equipment and vehicle use | 400 | 41.6 mi | |
| 1999 | Arson/incendiarism | 300 | 38.6 mi | |
| 2010 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 250 | 13.9 mi | |
| 2010 | Railroad operations and maintenance | 215 | 21.0 mi | |
| 1999 | Smoking | 201 | 13.3 mi | |
| 2001 | Debris and open burning | 182 | 35.5 mi | |
| 2011 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 170 | 27.7 mi | |
| 2003 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 160 | 47.5 mi | |
| 1999 | Arson/incendiarism | 157 | 39.0 mi | |
| 1995 | Smoking | 144 | 45.1 mi | |
| 2010 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 144 | 12.4 mi |
Top 3 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 Vine Grove. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
2 departments report to NFIRS for incidents in Vine Grove.
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.