In 2025, fire departments serving Walden responded to 30 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $5K 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 83% of all calls.
May peaks. Sep dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
83 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2025. $165K cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 10 | — | |
| 2022 | 13 | +30.0% | |
| 2023 | 18 | +38.5% | |
| 2024 | 12 | -33.3% | |
| 2025 | 30 | +150.0% |
For the 0 building fires Walden departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 8 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 | 3 | 37.5% | |
| 2 | Chute/container - trash, rubbish, waste | 1 | 12.5% | |
| 3 | Heating room or area, water heater area | 1 | 12.5% | |
| 4 | Roof surface: exterior | 1 | 12.5% | |
| 5 | Cargo/trunk area - all vehicles | 1 | 12.5% | |
| 6 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 1 | 12.5% |
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 Walden mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 3 | 37.5% | |
| 2 | Arcing | 1 | 12.5% | |
| 3 | Hot ember or ash | 1 | 12.5% | |
| 4 | Fireworks | 1 | 12.5% | |
| 5 | Cigarette | 1 | 12.5% | |
| 6 | Lightning | 1 | 12.5% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Walden departments in 2025. These 1 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $5,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Walden 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 | 46.2 mi | |
| 2016 | Debris and open burning | 2,836 | 32.5 mi | |
| 1999 | Arson/incendiarism | 2,480 | 30.0 mi | |
| 2016 | Recreation and ceremony | 2,083 | 31.0 mi | |
| 2001 | Arson/incendiarism | 2,080 | 22.5 mi | |
| 2001 | Arson/incendiarism | 2,035 | 13.6 mi | |
| 2016 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 2,018 | 30.8 mi | |
| 2016 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 2,000 | 37.3 mi | |
| 2001 | Arson/incendiarism | 1,747 | 13.2 mi | |
| 2012 | Power generation/transmission/distribution | 1,600 | 42.0 mi | |
| 2001 | Arson/incendiarism | 1,560 | 20.9 mi | |
| 1999 | Equipment and vehicle use | 1,281 | 29.2 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 Walden. 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.