In 2025, fire departments serving Alderson responded to 23 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $15K 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 61% of all calls.
Feb peaks. Aug dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
145 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2024. $78K cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 29 | — | |
| 2022 | 28 | -3.4% | |
| 2023 | 28 | +0.0% | |
| 2024 | 37 | +32.1% | |
| 2025 | 23 | -37.8% |
For the 4 building fires Alderson departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 46 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 | Outside area, other | 5 | 10.9% | |
| 2 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 5 | 10.9% | |
| 3 | Other | 4 | 8.7% | |
| 4 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 4 | 8.7% | |
| 5 | Undetermined | 4 | 8.7% | |
| 6 | Vehicle area, other | 3 | 6.5% | |
| 7 | Common room, den, family room, living room, lounge | 2 | 4.3% | |
| 8 | Cooking area, kitchen | 2 | 4.3% | |
| 9 | Storage area, other | 2 | 4.3% | |
| 10 | Structural area, other | 2 | 4.3% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 13 | 28.3% |
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 Alderson mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 17 | 37.0% | |
| 2 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 5 | 10.9% | |
| 3 | Hot ember or ash | 4 | 8.7% | |
| 4 | Heat source: other | 3 | 6.5% | |
| 5 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 3 | 6.5% | |
| 6 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 3 | 6.5% | |
| 7 | Arcing | 2 | 4.3% | |
| 8 | Heat from other open flame or smoking materials | 2 | 4.3% | |
| 9 | Heat from direct flame, convection currents | 2 | 4.3% | |
| 10 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 1 | 2.2% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 4 | 8.7% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Alderson departments in 2025. These 1 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $15,000 | Fire, other | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Alderson sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 64,296 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2012 | Railroad operations and maintenance | 11,381 | 24.4 mi | |
| 2012 | Fireworks | 7,351 | 32.5 mi | |
| 1999 | Fireworks | 4,637 | 46.5 mi | |
| 2008 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 3,990 | 44.6 mi | |
| 1999 | Fireworks | 3,706 | 40.3 mi | |
| 1999 | Arson/incendiarism | 3,484 | 47.6 mi | |
| 1999 | Fireworks | 3,358 | 42.8 mi | |
| 2000 | Arson/incendiarism | 2,859 | 41.8 mi | |
| 2008 | Power generation/transmission/distribution | 2,738 | 35.3 mi | |
| 1995 | Smoking | 2,151 | 34.8 mi | |
| 1999 | Arson/incendiarism | 1,800 | 39.7 mi | |
| 1995 | Arson/incendiarism | 1,678 | 32.9 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 West Virginia cities with population within ±25% of Alderson. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
2 departments report to NFIRS for incidents in Alderson.
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.