In 2025, fire departments serving Walton responded to 94 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $300K 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. Nov dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
621 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2022. $2.7M cumulative property loss. 1 civilian deaths.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 124 | — | |
| 2022 | 146 | +17.7% | |
| 2023 | 128 | -12.3% | |
| 2024 | 129 | +0.8% | |
| 2025 | 94 | -27.1% |
For the 22 building fires Walton departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 196 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 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 40 | 20.4% | |
| 2 | Undetermined | 30 | 15.3% | |
| 3 | Outside area, other | 26 | 13.3% | |
| 4 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 15 | 7.7% | |
| 5 | Other | 10 | 5.1% | |
| 6 | Highway, parking lot, street: on or near | 10 | 5.1% | |
| 7 | Cooking area, kitchen | 8 | 4.1% | |
| 8 | Wildland, woods | 8 | 4.1% | |
| 9 | Exterior, exposed surface | 5 | 2.6% | |
| 10 | Common room, den, family room, living room, lounge | 4 | 2.0% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 40 | 20.4% |
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 Walton mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 89 | 45.4% | |
| 2 | Heat source: other | 17 | 8.7% | |
| 3 | Arcing | 17 | 8.7% | |
| 4 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 13 | 6.6% | |
| 5 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 11 | 5.6% | |
| 6 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 7 | 3.6% | |
| 7 | Hot ember or ash | 6 | 3.1% | |
| 8 | Cigarette | 6 | 3.1% | |
| 9 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 5 | 2.6% | |
| 10 | Heat, spark from friction | 5 | 2.6% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 20 | 10.2% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Walton departments in 2025. These 8 fires alone account for 97% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $300,000 | Road freight or transport vehicle fire | Major | Investigated |
| 2 | $100,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $50,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 4 | $40,000 | Road freight or transport vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 5 | $30,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 6 | $30,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 7 | $10,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 8 | $10,000 | Fire in motor home, camper, recreational vehicle | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Walton sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 3,818 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 | 44.3 mi | |
| 2010 | Arson/incendiarism | 450 | 44.3 mi | |
| 2004 | Arson/incendiarism | 354 | 40.4 mi | |
| 2003 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 300 | 44.7 mi | |
| 2011 | Arson/incendiarism | 280 | 43.9 mi | |
| 2015 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 220 | 44.4 mi | |
| 2001 | Arson/incendiarism | 200 | 44.5 mi | |
| 2020 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 182 | 43.8 mi | |
| 2011 | Arson/incendiarism | 100 | 44.5 mi | |
| 2009 | Debris and open burning | 97 | 45.1 mi | |
| 2018 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 74 | 44.3 mi | |
| 2020 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 72 | 44.5 mi |
Top 7 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 Walton. 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.