In 2025, fire departments serving Blairs responded to 42 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $40K building blaze. Here's the full picture.
Outside rubbish, trash or waste fire lead by count. Building fires lead by dollars. Together the top five categories make up about 69% of all calls.
Feb peaks. May dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
176 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2021. $492K cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 57 | — | |
| 2022 | 32 | -43.9% | |
| 2023 | 22 | -31.2% | |
| 2024 | 23 | +4.5% | |
| 2025 | 42 | +82.6% |
For the 2 building fires Blairs departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 30 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 | 9 | 30.0% | |
| 2 | Other | 6 | 20.0% | |
| 3 | Function area, other | 2 | 6.7% | |
| 4 | Bedroom - < 5 persons; included are jail or prison | 2 | 6.7% | |
| 5 | Vehicle storage area; garage, carport | 2 | 6.7% | |
| 6 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 2 | 6.7% | |
| 7 | Cooking area, kitchen | 1 | 3.3% | |
| 8 | Laundry area, wash house (laundry) | 1 | 3.3% | |
| 9 | Office | 1 | 3.3% | |
| 10 | Storage: supplies or tools; dead storage | 1 | 3.3% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 3 | 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 Blairs mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 17 | 56.7% | |
| 2 | Heat source: other | 4 | 13.3% | |
| 3 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 2 | 6.7% | |
| 4 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 2 | 6.7% | |
| 5 | Heat from other open flame or smoking materials | 2 | 6.7% | |
| 6 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 1 | 3.3% | |
| 7 | Arcing | 1 | 3.3% | |
| 8 | Heat spread from another fire, other | 1 | 3.3% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Blairs departments in 2025. These 4 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $40,000 | Fires in structures other than in a building | Significant | Investigated |
| 2 | $30,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $15,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 4 | $500 | Trash or rubbish fire, contained | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Blairs sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 10,578 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2006 | Natural | 3,696 | 45.9 mi | |
| 2002 | Arson/incendiarism | 1,146 | 48.2 mi | |
| 2008 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 1,036 | 24.6 mi | |
| 2006 | Power generation/transmission/distribution | 850 | 47.5 mi | |
| 2001 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 456 | 39.3 mi | |
| 1999 | Natural | 400 | 24.2 mi | |
| 2006 | Natural | 380 | 23.8 mi | |
| 2005 | Natural | 350 | 20.1 mi | |
| 2007 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 289 | 47.0 mi | |
| 2007 | Natural | 230 | 27.7 mi | |
| 2008 | Debris and open burning | 170 | 31.5 mi | |
| 2011 | Natural | 166 | 38.6 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 Blairs. 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.