In 2025, fire departments serving Winchester responded to 109 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 41% of all calls.
Mar peaks. Jun dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
635 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2023. $3.7M cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 108 | — | |
| 2022 | 103 | -4.6% | |
| 2023 | 173 | +68.0% | |
| 2024 | 142 | -17.9% | |
| 2025 | 109 | -23.2% |
For the 18 building fires Winchester departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 211 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 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 37 | 17.5% | |
| 2 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 29 | 13.7% | |
| 3 | Outside area, other | 24 | 11.4% | |
| 4 | Undetermined | 21 | 10.0% | |
| 5 | Cooking area, kitchen | 14 | 6.6% | |
| 6 | Wildland, woods | 9 | 4.3% | |
| 7 | Highway, parking lot, street: on or near | 8 | 3.8% | |
| 8 | Other | 5 | 2.4% | |
| 9 | Common room, den, family room, living room, lounge | 5 | 2.4% | |
| 10 | Bedroom - < 5 persons; included are jail or prison | 5 | 2.4% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 54 | 25.6% |
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 Winchester mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 87 | 41.2% | |
| 2 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 25 | 11.8% | |
| 3 | Hot ember or ash | 20 | 9.5% | |
| 4 | Arcing | 13 | 6.2% | |
| 5 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 11 | 5.2% | |
| 6 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 11 | 5.2% | |
| 7 | Cigarette lighter | 9 | 4.3% | |
| 8 | Match | 5 | 2.4% | |
| 9 | Heat from other open flame or smoking materials | 4 | 1.9% | |
| 10 | Heat spread from another fire, other | 4 | 1.9% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 22 | 10.4% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Winchester departments in 2025. These 8 fires alone account for 98% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $300,000 | Building fires | Major | Investigated |
| 2 | $195,200 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $139,800 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 4 | $87,500 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 5 | $80,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 6 | $30,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 7 | $20,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 8 | $10,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Winchester sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 32,532 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | Debris and open burning | 2,836 | 47.6 mi | |
| 1999 | Arson/incendiarism | 2,480 | 47.4 mi | |
| 2016 | Recreation and ceremony | 2,083 | 43.2 mi | |
| 2001 | Arson/incendiarism | 2,080 | 41.2 mi | |
| 2001 | Arson/incendiarism | 2,035 | 35.5 mi | |
| 2016 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 2,000 | 48.1 mi | |
| 2001 | Arson/incendiarism | 1,747 | 37.1 mi | |
| 2001 | Arson/incendiarism | 1,560 | 27.8 mi | |
| 2012 | Arson/incendiarism | 1,167 | 32.8 mi | |
| 2001 | Railroad operations and maintenance | 1,100 | 38.9 mi | |
| 2007 | Arson/incendiarism | 1,075 | 40.4 mi | |
| 2001 | Arson/incendiarism | 1,050 | 44.4 mi |
Top 6 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 Winchester. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
4 departments report to NFIRS for incidents in Winchester.
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.