In 2025, fire departments serving Altavista responded to 21 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $63K building blaze. Here's the full picture.
Power line down lead by count. Building fires lead by dollars. Together the top five categories make up about 62% of all calls.
Mar peaks. Feb dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
114 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2023. $537K cumulative property loss. 1 civilian deaths.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 15 | — | |
| 2022 | 24 | +60.0% | |
| 2023 | 31 | +29.2% | |
| 2024 | 23 | -25.8% | |
| 2025 | 21 | -8.7% |
For the 2 building fires Altavista departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 29 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 | Undetermined | 8 | 27.6% | |
| 2 | Other | 4 | 13.8% | |
| 3 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 3 | 10.3% | |
| 4 | Bedroom - < 5 persons; included are jail or prison | 2 | 6.9% | |
| 5 | Attic: vacant, crawl space above top story, cupola | 2 | 6.9% | |
| 6 | Outside area, other | 2 | 6.9% | |
| 7 | Bathroom, checkroom, lavatory, locker room | 1 | 3.4% | |
| 8 | Computer room, control room or center | 1 | 3.4% | |
| 9 | Ceiling & floor assembly, crawl space b/t stories | 1 | 3.4% | |
| 10 | Operator/passenger area of transportation equip. | 1 | 3.4% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 4 | 13.8% |
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 Altavista mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 13 | 44.8% | |
| 2 | Hot ember or ash | 3 | 10.3% | |
| 3 | Heat source: other | 2 | 6.9% | |
| 4 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 2 | 6.9% | |
| 5 | Arcing | 2 | 6.9% | |
| 6 | Cigarette lighter | 2 | 6.9% | |
| 7 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 1 | 3.4% | |
| 8 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 1 | 3.4% | |
| 9 | Heat, spark from friction | 1 | 3.4% | |
| 10 | Match | 1 | 3.4% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 1 | 3.4% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Altavista departments in 2025. These 1 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $63,480 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Altavista sits below the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 39,531 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 | 11,229 | 41.9 mi | |
| 2008 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 3,990 | 41.3 mi | |
| 2002 | Natural | 2,935 | 33.5 mi | |
| 2006 | Arson/incendiarism | 2,871 | 34.2 mi | |
| 2015 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 1,676 | 39.7 mi | |
| 2008 | Equipment and vehicle use | 1,550 | 33.1 mi | |
| 1999 | Arson/incendiarism | 1,349 | 46.5 mi | |
| 2008 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 1,300 | 45.2 mi | |
| 1999 | Equipment and vehicle use | 1,285 | 36.1 mi | |
| 1995 | Debris and open burning | 1,200 | 46.9 mi | |
| 2002 | Arson/incendiarism | 1,146 | 39.1 mi | |
| 2006 | Debris and open burning | 1,140 | 36.1 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 Virginia cities with population within ±25% of Altavista. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
1 departments report to NFIRS for incidents in Altavista.
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.