In 2025, fire departments serving Barrackville responded to 17 fire and hazmat incidents . Here's the full picture.
Building fires lead by count. Building fires lead by dollars. Together the top five categories make up about 88% of all calls.
Aug peaks. Jan dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
80 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2022. $50K cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 19 | — | |
| 2022 | 20 | +5.3% | |
| 2023 | 14 | -30.0% | |
| 2024 | 10 | -28.6% | |
| 2025 | 17 | +70.0% |
For the 6 building fires Barrackville departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 8 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 | 4 | 50.0% | |
| 2 | Other | 1 | 12.5% | |
| 3 | Cooking area, kitchen | 1 | 12.5% | |
| 4 | Wall surface: exterior | 1 | 12.5% | |
| 5 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 1 | 12.5% |
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 Barrackville mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 5 | 62.5% | |
| 2 | Heat source: other | 1 | 12.5% | |
| 3 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 1 | 12.5% | |
| 4 | Arcing | 1 | 12.5% |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Barrackville sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 2,316 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | Smoking | 394 | 29.8 mi | |
| 2009 | Railroad operations and maintenance | 150 | 45.0 mi | |
| 2015 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 150 | 49.7 mi | |
| 2012 | Equipment and vehicle use | 147 | 39.9 mi | |
| 2009 | Railroad operations and maintenance | 125 | 45.3 mi | |
| 2010 | Equipment and vehicle use | 121 | 48.0 mi | |
| 2010 | Debris and open burning | 120 | 38.3 mi | |
| 2002 | Recreation and ceremony | 117 | 46.6 mi | |
| 2001 | Smoking | 102 | 21.8 mi | |
| 2008 | Equipment and vehicle use | 85 | 45.4 mi | |
| 1999 | Debris and open burning | 76 | 22.2 mi | |
| 1999 | Power generation/transmission/distribution | 71 | 22.5 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 Barrackville. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
1 departments report to NFIRS for incidents in Barrackville.
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.