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Risk & Response

Knox County, KY

Community risk profile | NRI Score: 79.1 Relatively High

29,865
Population
9
Departments
14
Stations
11
Census Tracts

Natural Hazard Loss Profile

Expected annual loss across the 18 natural hazards in FEMA's National Risk Index. Life safety is expressed in fatality-equivalents, combining expected deaths and injuries. Property loss counts building damage only, not agriculture.

Natural Hazard Life Safety
0.87
expected fatality-equivalents per year, natural hazards only
14th highest of 120
Life Safety per 100k
2.91
natural hazard fatality-equivalents per 100,000 residents
8th highest of 120
Natural Hazard Property Loss
$7.8M
expected building loss per year, natural hazards only
52nd highest of 120
Property Loss per Resident
$262
natural hazard building loss per resident per year
93rd highest of 120

These figures cover natural hazards only. Structure fire, EMS, and motor vehicle incidents are not in the National Risk Index, so this is not an all-cause life safety measure. For Knox County, the largest single contributor is Cold Wave, 68% of the life-safety total.

Knox County carries an expected under 1 natural hazard fatality-equivalents and $7.8M in building loss per year. Rank chips compare the 120 Kentucky counties. Nationally, Knox County ranks 674th of 3,222 U.S. counties for life-safety loss, 332nd for life safety per 100k residents, 1776th for property loss, and 2185th for property loss per resident. Computed from census tract data covering every resident, independent of fire department boundaries.

Add fire mortality, cause, and loss

Natural hazard exposure is only part of the risk. Fire deaths and injuries, cause of ignition, and dollar loss per incident come from NERIS incident reporting, which grows as departments serving Knox County enroll. Our Regional tier adds that data for the departments your jurisdiction sponsors, next to public risk and NERIS adoption for every department in Knox County.

Talk to us about Knox County See what a department sees

Loss Breakdown

40%
60%
Property (buildings): $7.8M (39.6%)
Life safety: $11.9M (60.3%)
Agriculture: $16K (0.1%)

Total expected annual loss: $19,733,181 per year. Life safety is shown here in dollars, at FEMA's $13.7M value of statistical life, so the three shares sum to the total.

Hazards Ranked Two Ways

The hazard that threatens people is often not the hazard that destroys buildings. Both columns cover the same 18 hazards over the same year.

By life-safety loss ($/yr)

Cold Wave
$8.1M
Inland Flooding
$1.7M
Tornado
$776K
Strong Wind
$351K
Heat Wave
$288K
Lightning
$195K

By property loss ($/yr)

Inland Flooding
$6.6M
Tornado
$318K
Earthquake
$313K
Wildfire
$244K
Hail
$196K
Strong Wind
$95K

Census Tract Risk Map

Shaded by quintile across the census tracts in Knox County. Gray tracts have no modeled loss or no resident population. Per-resident figures on this map use the National Risk Index 2020 tract population.

Fire Service Profile

11%
11%
78%
Career: 11% (1)
Combination: 11% (1)
Volunteer: 78% (7)
Residents per Station
2,133
census population per registered station
Stations per 100k
46.9
registered stations per 100,000 residents

Department composition covers the 9 departments registered in NERIS Public for Knox County, KY. Departments that have not registered are not counted. Station coverage divides census population by registered stations; department service areas overlap, so their populations are not summed.

Department Rankings

Fire and EMS departments serving Knox County. Click column headers to sort.

NRI Rating is from FEMA's National Risk Index, which measures community risk across 18 natural hazards using expected annual losses, social vulnerability, and community resilience. Life-Safety Loss uses FEMA's Value of Statistical Life ($13.7M per expected fatality) to estimate annual risk to human life.

Department boundaries and station counts are self-reported through NERIS Public and may not reflect current service areas. Population and Life-Safety Loss reflect each department's full jurisdiction. County-level risk metrics are computed from census tract data and are not affected by boundary accuracy. See full methodology.

Showing 9 departments
Department ▲ Est. Population ▲ Life-Safety Loss ▼ NRI Rating ▲ Stations ▲
Barbourville Fire Department 14,674 $5.9M Relatively High 2
West Knox Volunteer Fire Department 13,242 $4.7M Relatively High 3
Bailey Switch Volunteer Fire Department 12,024 $4.6M Relatively High 1
Richland Volunteer Fire Department 9,232 $4.2M Relatively High 2
Richland Volunteer Fire Department 9,232 $4.2M Relatively High 0
Stinking Creek Volunteer Fire & Rescue 6,644 $3.1M Very High 1
Corbin Fire Department 10,758 $2.7M Relatively High 1
Little Poplar Creek Volunteer Fire Department 5,128 $1.6M Relatively High 1
Artemus Volunteer Fire Department 3,462 $1.4M Relatively High 3
No departments match your search.

Risk Snapshot

36.9%
Poverty Rate
17.4%
Age 65+
24.1%
Disability Rate
8.6%
Uninsured
38.8%
Pre-1980 Housing
32.0%
Mobile Homes
15.5%
Vacancy Rate
2.1%
Wood Heat
$34,244
Median HH Income

FEMA Disaster Declarations

13
Last 10 Years
24
Last 25 Years
Severe Storm
Most Frequent

Every department in your region, on one briefing

Our Regional tier gives state fire marshals and county fire authorities one briefing across every department in the jurisdiction: priority tracts ranked by risk and demand, NERIS adoption by county, and a quarterly report with a page per department. Response times appear for the departments you sponsor. Free 90-day pilot.

Explore the Regional Tier See the Response Demo