In 2025, fire departments serving Clifton Forge responded to 55 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $25K building blaze. Here's the full picture.
Incomplete 2025 data. Clifton Forge's departments reported 55 incidents to NFIRS for 2025, against about 98 in a typical year, so 2025 figures on this page undercount. The 2021–2025 totals are the better guide.
Electrical wiring/equipment problem, other lead by count. Building fires lead by dollars. Together the top five categories make up about 64% of all calls.
Jan peaks. Apr dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
491 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2022. $1.6M cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 106 | — | |
| 2022 | 144 | +35.8% | |
| 2023 | 116 | -19.4% | |
| 2024 | 70 | -39.7% | |
| 2025* | 55 | — |
* Well below Clifton Forge's usual volume. That almost always means one or more departments didn't submit a full year to NFIRS, not that fires dropped, so no year-over-year change is shown for it.
For the 3 building fires Clifton Forge departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 66 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 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 15 | 22.7% | |
| 2 | Wall surface: exterior | 7 | 10.6% | |
| 3 | Cooking area, kitchen | 6 | 9.1% | |
| 4 | Undetermined | 6 | 9.1% | |
| 5 | Cargo/trunk area - all vehicles | 3 | 4.5% | |
| 6 | Exterior, exposed surface | 3 | 4.5% | |
| 7 | Bedroom - < 5 persons; included are jail or prison | 2 | 3.0% | |
| 8 | Storage area, other | 2 | 3.0% | |
| 9 | Vehicle area, other | 2 | 3.0% | |
| 10 | Wildland, woods | 2 | 3.0% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 18 | 27.3% |
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 Clifton Forge mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 26 | 39.4% | |
| 2 | Arcing | 6 | 9.1% | |
| 3 | Heat from direct flame, convection currents | 6 | 9.1% | |
| 4 | Heat source: other | 4 | 6.1% | |
| 5 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 4 | 6.1% | |
| 6 | Radiated heat from another fire | 4 | 6.1% | |
| 7 | Heat, spark from friction | 3 | 4.5% | |
| 8 | Hot ember or ash | 3 | 4.5% | |
| 9 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 2 | 3.0% | |
| 10 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 2 | 3.0% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 6 | 9.1% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Clifton Forge departments in 2025. These 3 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $25,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 2 | $8,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $5,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Clifton Forge sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 85,692 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2012 | Arson/incendiarism | 15,454 | 11.4 mi | |
| 2012 | Railroad operations and maintenance | 11,381 | 20.9 mi | |
| 2016 | Debris and open burning | 11,229 | 36.4 mi | |
| 2012 | Fireworks | 7,351 | 18.6 mi | |
| 2008 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 3,990 | 33.2 mi | |
| 2003 | Debris and open burning | 3,200 | 17.5 mi | |
| 2017 | Arson/incendiarism | 3,058 | 21.5 mi | |
| 2002 | Natural | 2,935 | 25.2 mi | |
| 2006 | Arson/incendiarism | 2,871 | 28.9 mi | |
| 2008 | Power generation/transmission/distribution | 2,738 | 31.4 mi | |
| 1995 | Smoking | 2,151 | 35.3 mi | |
| 2018 | Equipment and vehicle use | 2,057 | 35.4 mi |
Top 1 ZIP codes by NFIRS incident count across 2021–2025. Each ZIP has its own fire profile — dive in for neighborhood-level context.
| # | ZIP | 5-yr incidents | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 24422 | 491 |
Six Virginia cities with population within ±25% of Clifton Forge. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
2 departments report to NFIRS for incidents in Clifton Forge.
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.