In 2025, fire departments serving Amherst responded to 98 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $150K 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 55% of all calls.
Jan peaks. May dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
402 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2021. $391K cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 109 | — | |
| 2022 | 70 | -35.8% | |
| 2023 | 60 | -14.3% | |
| 2024 | 65 | +8.3% | |
| 2025 | 98 | +50.8% |
For the 14 building fires Amherst departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 126 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 | 27 | 21.4% | |
| 2 | Undetermined | 17 | 13.5% | |
| 3 | Wildland, woods | 16 | 12.7% | |
| 4 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 10 | 7.9% | |
| 5 | Other | 9 | 7.1% | |
| 6 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 8 | 6.3% | |
| 7 | Cooking area, kitchen | 7 | 5.6% | |
| 8 | Vehicle area, other | 6 | 4.8% | |
| 9 | Structural area, other | 3 | 2.4% | |
| 10 | Function area, other | 2 | 1.6% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 21 | 16.7% |
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 Amherst mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 50 | 39.7% | |
| 2 | Heat source: other | 10 | 7.9% | |
| 3 | Arcing | 10 | 7.9% | |
| 4 | Hot ember or ash | 10 | 7.9% | |
| 5 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 8 | 6.3% | |
| 6 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 6 | 4.8% | |
| 7 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 5 | 4.0% | |
| 8 | Cigarette | 4 | 3.2% | |
| 9 | Heat, spark from friction | 3 | 2.4% | |
| 10 | Heat from other open flame or smoking materials | 3 | 2.4% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 17 | 13.5% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Amherst departments in 2025. These 8 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $150,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 2 | $150,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $54,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 4 | $15,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 5 | $5,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 6 | $5,000 | Mobile property (vehicle) fire, other | Significant | Investigated |
| 7 | $3,200 | Mobile property (vehicle) fire, other | Significant | Investigated |
| 8 | $2,000 | Forest, woods or wildland fire | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Amherst sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 62,863 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2012 | Arson/incendiarism | 15,454 | 37.2 mi | |
| 2016 | Debris and open burning | 11,229 | 11.8 mi | |
| 2003 | Debris and open burning | 3,200 | 36.4 mi | |
| 2017 | Arson/incendiarism | 3,058 | 33.0 mi | |
| 2002 | Natural | 2,935 | 23.4 mi | |
| 2006 | Arson/incendiarism | 2,871 | 17.4 mi | |
| 1999 | Debris and open burning | 2,206 | 44.9 mi | |
| 2018 | Equipment and vehicle use | 2,057 | 22.6 mi | |
| 1998 | Arson/incendiarism | 1,800 | 47.9 mi | |
| 2015 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 1,676 | 32.3 mi | |
| 2016 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 1,614 | 17.2 mi | |
| 2008 | Equipment and vehicle use | 1,550 | 41.0 mi |
Top 6 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 Amherst. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
1 departments report to NFIRS for incidents in Amherst.
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.