In 2025, fire departments serving Charles Town responded to 242 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $65K 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 55% of all calls.
Mar peaks. Nov dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
1,010 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2023. $2.8M cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 159 | — | |
| 2022 | 166 | +4.4% | |
| 2023 | 246 | +48.2% | |
| 2024 | 197 | -19.9% | |
| 2025 | 242 | +22.8% |
For the 48 building fires Charles Town departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 258 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 | 59 | 22.9% | |
| 2 | Outside area, other | 29 | 11.2% | |
| 3 | Cooking area, kitchen | 24 | 9.3% | |
| 4 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 20 | 7.8% | |
| 5 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 17 | 6.6% | |
| 6 | Other | 15 | 5.8% | |
| 7 | Vehicle area, other | 13 | 5.0% | |
| 8 | Exterior balcony, unenclosed porch | 6 | 2.3% | |
| 9 | Operator/passenger area of transportation equip. | 5 | 1.9% | |
| 10 | Wildland, woods | 5 | 1.9% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 65 | 25.2% |
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 Charles Town mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 140 | 54.3% | |
| 2 | Arcing | 17 | 6.6% | |
| 3 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 15 | 5.8% | |
| 4 | Hot ember or ash | 14 | 5.4% | |
| 5 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 11 | 4.3% | |
| 6 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 9 | 3.5% | |
| 7 | Heat source: other | 8 | 3.1% | |
| 8 | Heat from direct flame, convection currents | 7 | 2.7% | |
| 9 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 6 | 2.3% | |
| 10 | Chemical reaction | 6 | 2.3% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 25 | 9.7% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Charles Town departments in 2025. These 8 fires alone account for 87% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $65,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 2 | $50,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $50,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 4 | $40,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 5 | $20,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 6 | $20,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 7 | $20,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 8 | $13,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Charles Town sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 12,259 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2012 | Natural | 2,138 | 48.0 mi | |
| 2011 | Other causes | 1,989 | 36.8 mi | |
| 2012 | Natural | 1,200 | 37.2 mi | |
| 2001 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 1,000 | 30.1 mi | |
| 2019 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 745 | 48.3 mi | |
| 2010 | Debris and open burning | 610 | 43.6 mi | |
| 2013 | Recreation and ceremony | 608 | 45.3 mi | |
| 2011 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 461 | 32.6 mi | |
| 1996 | Recreation and ceremony | 405 | 10.2 mi | |
| 1996 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 400 | 11.1 mi | |
| 1996 | Arson/incendiarism | 350 | 12.4 mi | |
| 1999 | Natural | 315 | 48.5 mi |
Top 6 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 Charles Town. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
2 departments report to NFIRS for incidents in Charles Town.
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.