In 2025, fire departments serving Belle Haven responded to 19 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $500 building blaze. Here's the full picture.
Hazardous condition, other lead by count. Building fires lead by dollars. Together the top five categories make up about 84% of all calls.
Jul peaks. Feb dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
125 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2021. $83K cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 33 | — | |
| 2022 | 28 | -15.2% | |
| 2023 | 27 | -3.6% | |
| 2024 | 18 | -33.3% | |
| 2025 | 19 | +5.6% |
For the 0 building fires Belle Haven departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 10 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 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 4 | 40.0% | |
| 2 | Vehicle area, other | 2 | 20.0% | |
| 3 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 2 | 20.0% | |
| 4 | Common room, den, family room, living room, lounge | 1 | 10.0% | |
| 5 | Heating room or area, water heater area | 1 | 10.0% |
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 Belle Haven mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 6 | 60.0% | |
| 2 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 1 | 10.0% | |
| 3 | Arcing | 1 | 10.0% | |
| 4 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 1 | 10.0% | |
| 5 | Undetermined | 1 | 10.0% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Belle Haven departments in 2025. These 1 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $500 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Belle Haven sits below the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 5,975 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1999 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 640 | 24.0 mi | |
| 2011 | Recreation and ceremony | 500 | 24.8 mi | |
| 2011 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 461 | 27.4 mi | |
| 2011 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 431 | 5.7 mi | |
| 2003 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 408 | 37.9 mi | |
| 1996 | Recreation and ceremony | 405 | 48.5 mi | |
| 1996 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 400 | 48.5 mi | |
| 1996 | Arson/incendiarism | 350 | 49.3 mi | |
| 2011 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 344 | 24.5 mi | |
| 2006 | Arson/incendiarism | 318 | 22.9 mi | |
| 1999 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 250 | 24.0 mi | |
| 1999 | Debris and open burning | 200 | 35.9 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 Belle Haven. 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.