In 2025, fire departments serving Blackstone responded to 68 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $300K building blaze. Here's the full picture.
Building fires lead by count. Building fires lead by dollars. Together the top five categories make up about 47% of all calls.
Jan peaks. Apr dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
237 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2025. $1.9M cumulative property loss. 3 civilian deaths.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 40 | — | |
| 2022 | 53 | +32.5% | |
| 2023 | 42 | -20.8% | |
| 2024 | 34 | -19.0% | |
| 2025 | 68 | +100.0% |
For the 12 building fires Blackstone departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 69 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 | 17 | 24.6% | |
| 2 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 12 | 17.4% | |
| 3 | Other | 5 | 7.2% | |
| 4 | Wildland, woods | 5 | 7.2% | |
| 5 | Bedroom - < 5 persons; included are jail or prison | 4 | 5.8% | |
| 6 | Outside area, other | 3 | 4.3% | |
| 7 | Cooking area, kitchen | 2 | 2.9% | |
| 8 | Chute/container - trash, rubbish, waste | 2 | 2.9% | |
| 9 | Exterior balcony, unenclosed porch | 2 | 2.9% | |
| 10 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 2 | 2.9% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 15 | 21.7% |
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 Blackstone mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 26 | 37.7% | |
| 2 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 8 | 11.6% | |
| 3 | Heat source: other | 7 | 10.1% | |
| 4 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 7 | 10.1% | |
| 5 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 6 | 8.7% | |
| 6 | Arcing | 5 | 7.2% | |
| 7 | Heat, spark from friction | 3 | 4.3% | |
| 8 | Hot ember or ash | 3 | 4.3% | |
| 9 | Lightning | 2 | 2.9% | |
| 10 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 1 | 1.4% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 1 | 1.4% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Blackstone departments in 2025. These 8 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $300,000 | Building fires | Major | Investigated |
| 2 | $143,918 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $100,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 4 | $47,000 | Road freight or transport vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 5 | $12,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 6 | $5,000 | Fire in mobile home used as fixed residence | Significant | Investigated |
| 7 | $3,500 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 8 | $1,000 | Outside equipment fire | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Blackstone sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 9,196 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 | 2,850 | 26.7 mi | |
| 2008 | Equipment and vehicle use | 1,250 | 26.6 mi | |
| 2001 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 865 | 8.2 mi | |
| 2008 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 821 | 43.5 mi | |
| 2011 | Debris and open burning | 545 | 21.2 mi | |
| 2011 | Power generation/transmission/distribution | 273 | 41.5 mi | |
| 2008 | Equipment and vehicle use | 223 | 23.2 mi | |
| 2009 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 198 | 45.9 mi | |
| 2011 | Debris and open burning | 176 | 21.8 mi | |
| 2008 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 172 | 44.8 mi | |
| 2008 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 157 | 29.4 mi | |
| 2008 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 150 | 13.4 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 Blackstone. 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.