In 2025, fire departments serving Chapmanville responded to 88 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $200K 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 68% of all calls.
Feb peaks. Nov dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
612 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2022. $2.3M cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 135 | — | |
| 2022 | 137 | +1.5% | |
| 2023 | 134 | -2.2% | |
| 2024 | 118 | -11.9% | |
| 2025 | 88 | -25.4% |
For the 26 building fires Chapmanville departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 302 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 | 170 | 56.3% | |
| 2 | Outside area, other | 23 | 7.6% | |
| 3 | Wildland, woods | 18 | 6.0% | |
| 4 | Cooking area, kitchen | 14 | 4.6% | |
| 5 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 11 | 3.6% | |
| 6 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 9 | 3.0% | |
| 7 | Common room, den, family room, living room, lounge | 8 | 2.6% | |
| 8 | Wall surface: exterior | 6 | 2.0% | |
| 9 | Other | 5 | 1.7% | |
| 10 | Bedroom - < 5 persons; included are jail or prison | 4 | 1.3% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 34 | 11.3% |
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 Chapmanville mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 245 | 81.1% | |
| 2 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 10 | 3.3% | |
| 3 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 7 | 2.3% | |
| 4 | Arcing | 6 | 2.0% | |
| 5 | Hot ember or ash | 6 | 2.0% | |
| 6 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 5 | 1.7% | |
| 7 | Heat from other open flame or smoking materials | 5 | 1.7% | |
| 8 | Cigarette lighter | 5 | 1.7% | |
| 9 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 3 | 1.0% | |
| 10 | Flame/torch used for lighting | 3 | 1.0% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 7 | 2.3% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Chapmanville departments in 2025. These 2 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $200,000 | Fire, other | Significant | Investigated |
| 2 | $200,000 | Fire, other | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Chapmanville sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 74,643 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2001 | Arson/incendiarism | 5,832 | 48.5 mi | |
| 2001 | Arson/incendiarism | 4,850 | 48.4 mi | |
| 1999 | Fireworks | 4,637 | 39.6 mi | |
| 1994 | Fireworks | 4,552 | 24.7 mi | |
| 1999 | Arson/incendiarism | 3,484 | 29.8 mi | |
| 1999 | Arson/incendiarism | 3,475 | 25.2 mi | |
| 1999 | Fireworks | 3,358 | 35.1 mi | |
| 1999 | Arson/incendiarism | 3,328 | 17.2 mi | |
| 2001 | Fireworks | 3,186 | 24.3 mi | |
| 1999 | Fireworks | 3,171 | 21.3 mi | |
| 1999 | Arson/incendiarism | 3,082 | 11.5 mi | |
| 2000 | Arson/incendiarism | 2,859 | 39.4 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 West Virginia cities with population within ±25% of Chapmanville. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
1 departments report to NFIRS for incidents in Chapmanville.
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.