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Risk & Response

Smith County, TN

Community risk profile | NRI Score: 66.1 Relatively High

20,389
Population
7
Departments
27
Stations
5
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
0.23
expected fatality-equivalents per year, natural hazards only
70th highest of 95
Life Safety per 100k
1.13
natural hazard fatality-equivalents per 100,000 residents
46th highest of 95
Natural Hazard Property Loss
$6.3M
expected building loss per year, natural hazards only
60th highest of 95
Property Loss per Resident
$308
natural hazard building loss per resident per year
24th highest of 95

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 Smith County, the largest single contributor is Cold Wave, 35% of the life-safety total.

Smith County carries an expected under 1 natural hazard fatality-equivalents and $6.3M in building loss per year. Rank chips compare the 95 Tennessee counties. Nationally, Smith County ranks 1781st of 3,222 U.S. counties for life-safety loss, 1493rd for life safety per 100k residents, 2020th for property loss, and 1785th 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 Smith 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 Smith County.

Talk to us about Smith County See what a department sees

Loss Breakdown

65%
33%
Property (buildings): $6.3M (65.2%)
Life safety: $3.2M (32.9%)
Agriculture: $181K (1.9%)

Total expected annual loss: $9,626,825 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
$1.1M
Tornado
$1.0M
Strong Wind
$538K
Heat Wave
$144K
Earthquake
$118K
Lightning
$115K

By property loss ($/yr)

Inland Flooding
$5.0M
Tornado
$659K
Earthquake
$274K
Hail
$157K
Strong Wind
$156K
Winter Weather
$35K

Census Tract Risk Map

Shaded by quintile across the census tracts in Smith 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

14%
86%
Combination: 14% (1)
Volunteer: 86% (6)
Residents per Station
755
census population per registered station
Stations per 100k
132.4
registered stations per 100,000 residents

Department composition covers the 7 departments registered in NERIS Public for Smith County, TN. 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 Smith 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 7 departments
Department ▲ Est. Population ▲ Life-Safety Loss ▼ NRI Rating ▲ Stations ▲
Putnam County Fire Department 64,221 $7.5M Relatively Moderate 14
Smith County Fire Department 28,920 $4.5M Relatively High 8
Hartsville - Trousdale County Volunteer Fire Department 11,957 $1.8M Relatively High 1
Gordonsville Fire Department 10,920 $1.7M Relatively High 1
Rock City/Rome Volunteer Fire Department 6,016 $931.5K Relatively High 1
South Carthage Volunteer Fire Department 6,016 $931.5K Relatively High 1
Carthage Fire Department 2,999 $517.0K Relatively Moderate 1
No departments match your search.

Risk Snapshot

10.0%
Poverty Rate
16.7%
Age 65+
15.7%
Disability Rate
8.3%
Uninsured
42.7%
Pre-1980 Housing
18.8%
Mobile Homes
9.4%
Vacancy Rate
4.0%
Wood Heat
$67,149
Median HH Income

FEMA Disaster Declarations

11
Last 10 Years
16
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