In 2025, fire departments serving Wartrace responded to 24 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $2K building blaze. Here's the full picture.
Grass fire lead by count. Building fires lead by dollars. Together the top five categories make up about 67% of all calls.
Feb peaks. Aug dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
138 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2021. $574K cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 32 | — | |
| 2022 | 26 | -18.8% | |
| 2023 | 26 | +0.0% | |
| 2024 | 30 | +15.4% | |
| 2025 | 24 | -20.0% |
For the 0 building fires Wartrace departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 54 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 | 16 | 29.6% | |
| 2 | Undetermined | 15 | 27.8% | |
| 3 | Outside area, other | 6 | 11.1% | |
| 4 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 6 | 11.1% | |
| 5 | Other | 2 | 3.7% | |
| 6 | Cooking area, kitchen | 2 | 3.7% | |
| 7 | Processing/manufacturing area, workroom | 1 | 1.9% | |
| 8 | Chute/container - trash, rubbish, waste | 1 | 1.9% | |
| 9 | Conduit, pipe, utility, or ventilation shaft | 1 | 1.9% | |
| 10 | Equipment or service area, other | 1 | 1.9% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 3 | 5.6% |
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 Wartrace mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 32 | 59.3% | |
| 2 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 6 | 11.1% | |
| 3 | Arcing | 4 | 7.4% | |
| 4 | Heat source: other | 3 | 5.6% | |
| 5 | Heat, spark from friction | 2 | 3.7% | |
| 6 | Cigarette lighter | 2 | 3.7% | |
| 7 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 1 | 1.9% | |
| 8 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 1 | 1.9% | |
| 9 | Hot ember or ash | 1 | 1.9% | |
| 10 | Heat spread from another fire, other | 1 | 1.9% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 1 | 1.9% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Wartrace departments in 2025. These 1 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $2,000 | Cooking fire, confined to container | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Wartrace sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 18,651 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2001 | Arson/incendiarism | 2,080 | 49.2 mi | |
| 2001 | Arson/incendiarism | 2,035 | 49.9 mi | |
| 2001 | Arson/incendiarism | 1,560 | 41.9 mi | |
| 2001 | Arson/incendiarism | 1,050 | 47.1 mi | |
| 2016 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 950 | 48.2 mi | |
| 2016 | Arson/incendiarism | 934 | 48.8 mi | |
| 2004 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 833 | 44.6 mi | |
| 2001 | Arson/incendiarism | 774 | 47.3 mi | |
| 2014 | Arson/incendiarism | 748 | 31.1 mi | |
| 2013 | Arson/incendiarism | 746 | 49.9 mi | |
| 2016 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 735 | 34.6 mi | |
| 2016 | Arson/incendiarism | 734 | 47.7 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 Tennessee cities with population within ±25% of Wartrace. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
1 departments report to NFIRS for incidents in Wartrace.
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.