In 2025, fire departments serving Bassett responded to 66 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $125K building blaze. Here's the full picture.
Brush, or brush and grass mixture fire lead by count. Building fires lead by dollars. Together the top five categories make up about 71% of all calls.
Dec peaks. May dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
399 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2022. $1.3M cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 99 | — | |
| 2022 | 114 | +15.2% | |
| 2023 | 68 | -40.4% | |
| 2024 | 52 | -23.5% | |
| 2025 | 66 | +26.9% |
For the 15 building fires Bassett departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 81 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 | 14 | 17.3% | |
| 2 | Other | 13 | 16.0% | |
| 3 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 13 | 16.0% | |
| 4 | Highway, parking lot, street: on or near | 8 | 9.9% | |
| 5 | Wildland, woods | 6 | 7.4% | |
| 6 | Structural area, other | 3 | 3.7% | |
| 7 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 3 | 3.7% | |
| 8 | Outside area, other | 3 | 3.7% | |
| 9 | Function area, other | 2 | 2.5% | |
| 10 | Cooking area, kitchen | 2 | 2.5% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 14 | 17.3% |
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 Bassett mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 33 | 40.7% | |
| 2 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 27 | 33.3% | |
| 3 | Hot ember or ash | 6 | 7.4% | |
| 4 | Heat source: other | 3 | 3.7% | |
| 5 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 3 | 3.7% | |
| 6 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 2 | 2.5% | |
| 7 | Arcing | 1 | 1.2% | |
| 8 | Heat, spark from friction | 1 | 1.2% | |
| 9 | Molten, hot material | 1 | 1.2% | |
| 10 | Heat from other open flame or smoking materials | 1 | 1.2% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 3 | 3.7% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Bassett departments in 2025. These 8 fires alone account for 99% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $125,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 2 | $40,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $20,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 4 | $20,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 5 | $15,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 6 | $10,000 | Vehicle accident, general cleanup | Significant | Investigated |
| 7 | $4,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 8 | $3,500 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Bassett sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 24,636 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2008 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 3,990 | 41.2 mi | |
| 2006 | Natural | 3,696 | 12.4 mi | |
| 2008 | Power generation/transmission/distribution | 2,738 | 46.9 mi | |
| 1995 | Smoking | 2,151 | 44.7 mi | |
| 2008 | Equipment and vehicle use | 1,550 | 46.5 mi | |
| 1999 | Arson/incendiarism | 1,349 | 39.4 mi | |
| 2002 | Arson/incendiarism | 1,146 | 29.8 mi | |
| 2006 | Debris and open burning | 1,140 | 47.3 mi | |
| 2008 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 1,036 | 33.1 mi | |
| 2006 | Power generation/transmission/distribution | 850 | 21.3 mi | |
| 2012 | Debris and open burning | 675 | 40.1 mi | |
| 2011 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 665 | 44.4 mi |
Top 5 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 Bassett. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
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.