In 2025, fire departments serving Appomattox responded to 181 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $200K 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 66% of all calls.
Feb peaks. Oct dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
691 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2025. $2.6M cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 120 | — | |
| 2022 | 130 | +8.3% | |
| 2023 | 97 | -25.4% | |
| 2024 | 163 | +68.0% | |
| 2025 | 181 | +11.0% |
For the 23 building fires Appomattox departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 295 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 | 117 | 39.7% | |
| 2 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 34 | 11.5% | |
| 3 | Wildland, woods | 28 | 9.5% | |
| 4 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 26 | 8.8% | |
| 5 | Other | 12 | 4.1% | |
| 6 | Outside area, other | 11 | 3.7% | |
| 7 | Railroad right of way: on or near | 11 | 3.7% | |
| 8 | Cooking area, kitchen | 9 | 3.1% | |
| 9 | Structural area, other | 6 | 2.0% | |
| 10 | Highway, parking lot, street: on or near | 6 | 2.0% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 35 | 11.9% |
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 Appomattox mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 213 | 72.2% | |
| 2 | Hot ember or ash | 33 | 11.2% | |
| 3 | Arcing | 18 | 6.1% | |
| 4 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 10 | 3.4% | |
| 5 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 4 | 1.4% | |
| 6 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 3 | 1.0% | |
| 7 | Heat source: other | 2 | 0.7% | |
| 8 | Heat, spark from friction | 2 | 0.7% | |
| 9 | Cigarette lighter | 2 | 0.7% | |
| 10 | Flame/torch used for lighting | 2 | 0.7% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 6 | 2.0% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Appomattox departments in 2025. These 8 fires alone account for 76% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $200,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 2 | $80,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $70,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 4 | $50,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 5 | $50,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 6 | $50,000 | Road freight or transport vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 7 | $50,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 8 | $40,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Appomattox sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 37,340 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 | 31.4 mi | |
| 2002 | Natural | 2,935 | 38.9 mi | |
| 2006 | Arson/incendiarism | 2,871 | 34.4 mi | |
| 2018 | Equipment and vehicle use | 2,057 | 41.6 mi | |
| 2015 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 1,676 | 48.1 mi | |
| 2016 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 1,614 | 29.0 mi | |
| 2008 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 1,300 | 33.6 mi | |
| 1999 | Equipment and vehicle use | 1,285 | 49.2 mi | |
| 1995 | Debris and open burning | 1,200 | 21.2 mi | |
| 2008 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 1,036 | 43.0 mi | |
| 2001 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 1,014 | 39.3 mi | |
| 2001 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 865 | 44.6 mi |
Top 4 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 Appomattox. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
1 departments report to NFIRS for incidents in Appomattox.
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.