In 2025, fire departments serving Bristol responded to 231 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.
Apr peaks. Jun dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
1,201 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2024. $5.5M cumulative property loss. 1 civilian deaths.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 182 | — | |
| 2022 | 270 | +48.4% | |
| 2023 | 239 | -11.5% | |
| 2024 | 279 | +16.7% | |
| 2025 | 231 | -17.2% |
For the 31 building fires Bristol departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 416 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 | 105 | 25.2% | |
| 2 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 48 | 11.5% | |
| 3 | Outside area, other | 38 | 9.1% | |
| 4 | Other | 30 | 7.2% | |
| 5 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 18 | 4.3% | |
| 6 | Bedroom - < 5 persons; included are jail or prison | 15 | 3.6% | |
| 7 | Cooking area, kitchen | 15 | 3.6% | |
| 8 | Exterior balcony, unenclosed porch | 12 | 2.9% | |
| 9 | Function area, other | 9 | 2.2% | |
| 10 | Bathroom, checkroom, lavatory, locker room | 8 | 1.9% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 118 | 28.4% |
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 Bristol mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 236 | 56.7% | |
| 2 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 26 | 6.2% | |
| 3 | Arcing | 24 | 5.8% | |
| 4 | Heat source: other | 19 | 4.6% | |
| 5 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 19 | 4.6% | |
| 6 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 18 | 4.3% | |
| 7 | Cigarette lighter | 13 | 3.1% | |
| 8 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 10 | 2.4% | |
| 9 | Hot ember or ash | 10 | 2.4% | |
| 10 | Cigarette | 9 | 2.2% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 32 | 7.7% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Bristol departments in 2025. These 8 fires alone account for 77% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $300,000 | Road freight or transport vehicle fire | Major | Investigated |
| 2 | $150,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $75,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 4 | $75,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 5 | $75,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 6 | $50,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 7 | $50,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 8 | $35,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Bristol sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 43,959 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | Recreation and ceremony | 10,120 | 49.7 mi | |
| 2000 | Debris and open burning | 2,738 | 39.7 mi | |
| 2016 | Arson/incendiarism | 2,402 | 45.5 mi | |
| 2005 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 2,200 | 49.3 mi | |
| 2000 | Arson/incendiarism | 2,050 | 29.7 mi | |
| 2001 | Arson/incendiarism | 2,000 | 47.6 mi | |
| 2016 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 1,727 | 27.9 mi | |
| 2012 | Debris and open burning | 1,542 | 48.5 mi | |
| 2008 | Arson/incendiarism | 1,500 | 26.8 mi | |
| 1999 | Debris and open burning | 1,500 | 47.7 mi | |
| 2001 | Arson/incendiarism | 1,500 | 47.7 mi | |
| 2016 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 1,450 | 46.0 mi |
Top 7 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 Bristol. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
3 departments report to NFIRS for incidents in Bristol.
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.