In 2025, fire departments serving Hamilton County responded to 2,940 fire and hazmat incidents — including a single $1.5M property loss. FEMA NRI rates wildfire risk here as High.
Power line down lead by count. Top five categories make up about 49% of all calls.
Mar peaks. Dec dips.
14,547 incidents from 2021 through 2025.
| Year | Incidents | |
|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 2,597 | |
| 2022 | 2,941 | |
| 2023 | 3,088 | |
| 2024 | 2,981 | |
| 2025 | 2,940 |
For the 221 building fires departments responded to in 2025, here's how investigators classified them.
Largest single-incident property losses in Hamilton County during 2025. These 10 fires alone account for 42% of the county's total.
| # | Property loss | City | Type | Severity |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $1,500,000 | EAST RIDGE | Building fires | Major |
| 2 | $1,000,000 | EAST RIDGE | Building fires | Major |
| 3 | $995,000 | CHATTANOOGA | Road freight or transport vehicle fire | Major |
| 4 | $750,000 | HIXSON | Building fires | Major |
| 5 | $748,000 | CHATTANOOGA | Outside rubbish, trash or waste fire | Major |
| 6 | $500,000 | CHATTANOOGA | Arcing, shorted electrical equipment | Major |
| 7 | $500,000 | HARRISON | Building fires | Major |
| 8 | $400,000 | CHATTANOOGA | Building fires | Major |
| 9 | $349,100 | CHATTANOOGA | Building fires | Major |
| 10 | $250,000 | CHATTANOOGA | Off-road vehicle or heavy equipment fire | Major |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples.
12 cities mapped to FIPS 47065.
| City | Population | |
|---|---|---|
| Chattanooga | 181,288 | View › |
| East Ridge | 22,040 | View › |
| Soddy-Daisy | 13,091 | View › |
| Red Bank | 11,919 | View › |
| Middle Valley | 11,619 | View › |
| Collegedale | 11,001 | View › |
| Signal Mountain | 8,833 | View › |
| Harrison | 8,313 | View › |
| Apison | 4,199 | View › |
| Sale Creek | 3,065 | View › |
| Lookout Mountain | 2,128 | View › |
| Lakesite | 2,056 | View › |
15 departments report from this county.
Top 10 fire perimeters by acres burned (state-scoped fallback while we build out per-county polygons).
| # | Name | Year | Agency | Acres |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Chimney Tops 2 | 2016 | NPS | 15,642 |
| 2 | SHARP | 2001 | NPS | 6,705 |
| 3 | Halls Top | 2016 | USFS | 2,462 |
| 4 | GREEN MTN | 2001 | NPS | 2,287 |
| 5 | DARROW RDG | 2000 | NPS | 2,265 |
| 6 | Stony Ridge | 2009 | NPS | 2,191 |
| 7 | LAUREL RDG | 1987 | NPS | 1,969 |
| 8 | Railroad Grade | 2016 | USFS | 1,746 |
| 9 | SHOP | 1988 | NPS | 1,303 |
| 10 | State Line | 2016 | USFS | 1,238 |
County-level NFIRS aggregates for 2025, plus 5-year totals across 2021–2025. NFIRS is voluntary — about 23,000 of roughly 30,000 US fire departments report — so totals are a strong indicator, not a complete census. Wildfire risk score (0–100) and Expected Annual Loss come from FEMA's National Risk Index. Drought class is the most recent USDM classification (D0 = abnormally dry through D4 = exceptional drought). Historical fire perimeters are sourced from the NIFC InterAgency Fire Perimeter History.