In 2025, fire departments serving Bethany responded to 15 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $21K building blaze. Here's the full picture.
Fire, other lead by count. Building fires lead by dollars. Together the top five categories make up about 67% of all calls.
Jan peaks. Mar dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
74 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2024. $239K cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 11 | — | |
| 2022 | 13 | +18.2% | |
| 2023 | 16 | +23.1% | |
| 2024 | 19 | +18.8% | |
| 2025 | 15 | -21.1% |
For the 2 building fires Bethany 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 | Other | 2 | 20.0% | |
| 2 | Bathroom, checkroom, lavatory, locker room | 2 | 20.0% | |
| 3 | Common room, den, family room, living room, lounge | 1 | 10.0% | |
| 4 | Bedroom - 5+ persons; including barrack/dormitory | 1 | 10.0% | |
| 5 | Cooking area, kitchen | 1 | 10.0% | |
| 6 | Laundry area, wash house (laundry) | 1 | 10.0% | |
| 7 | Outside area, other | 1 | 10.0% | |
| 8 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 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 Bethany mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Heat source: other | 5 | 50.0% | |
| 2 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 3 | 30.0% | |
| 3 | Undetermined | 2 | 20.0% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Bethany departments in 2025. These 3 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $21,000 | Fire, other | Significant | Investigated |
| 2 | $100 | Fire, other | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $100 | Fire, other | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Bethany sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 1,032 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2014 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 175 | 42.4 mi | |
| 2019 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 100 | 36.9 mi | |
| 2003 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 78 | 41.8 mi | |
| 2014 | Debris and open burning | 60 | 44.1 mi | |
| 2014 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 49 | 26.1 mi | |
| 1992 | Arson/incendiarism | 48 | 9.4 mi | |
| 2014 | Debris and open burning | 40 | 32.2 mi | |
| 2009 | Equipment and vehicle use | 40 | 36.3 mi | |
| 1992 | Debris and open burning | 36 | 48.1 mi | |
| 2015 | Arson/incendiarism | 35 | 40.1 mi | |
| 2005 | Debris and open burning | 31 | 24.2 mi | |
| 2001 | Debris and open burning | 30 | 45.8 mi |
Top 2 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 Bethany. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
1 departments report to NFIRS for incidents in Bethany.
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.