In 2025, fire departments serving Crozet responded to 46 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $500K building blaze. Here's the full picture.
Power line down lead by count. Building fires lead by dollars. Together the top five categories make up about 74% of all calls.
Nov peaks. May dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
274 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2023. $1.3M cumulative property loss. 1 civilian deaths.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 46 | — | |
| 2022 | 59 | +28.3% | |
| 2023 | 66 | +11.9% | |
| 2024 | 57 | -13.6% | |
| 2025 | 46 | -19.3% |
For the 5 building fires Crozet departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 62 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 | 11 | 17.7% | |
| 2 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 10 | 16.1% | |
| 3 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 8 | 12.9% | |
| 4 | Highway, parking lot, street: on or near | 4 | 6.5% | |
| 5 | Outside area, other | 3 | 4.8% | |
| 6 | Wildland, woods | 3 | 4.8% | |
| 7 | Common room, den, family room, living room, lounge | 2 | 3.2% | |
| 8 | Cooking area, kitchen | 2 | 3.2% | |
| 9 | Laundry area, wash house (laundry) | 2 | 3.2% | |
| 10 | Vehicle storage area; garage, carport | 2 | 3.2% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 15 | 24.2% |
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 Crozet mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 21 | 33.9% | |
| 2 | Hot ember or ash | 7 | 11.3% | |
| 3 | Heat source: other | 5 | 8.1% | |
| 4 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 4 | 6.5% | |
| 5 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 4 | 6.5% | |
| 6 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 4 | 6.5% | |
| 7 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 3 | 4.8% | |
| 8 | Arcing | 3 | 4.8% | |
| 9 | Heat from other open flame or smoking materials | 2 | 3.2% | |
| 10 | Flame/torch used for lighting | 2 | 3.2% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 7 | 11.3% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Crozet departments in 2025. These 4 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $500,000 | Building fires | Major | Investigated |
| 2 | $90,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $10,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 4 | $250 | Outside storage fire | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Crozet sits below the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 89,429 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 | 16,021 | 43.3 mi | |
| 2016 | Debris and open burning | 11,229 | 35.0 mi | |
| 2016 | Recreation and ceremony | 10,326 | 17.5 mi | |
| 2000 | Arson/incendiarism | 6,131 | 39.0 mi | |
| 2008 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 4,505 | 30.2 mi | |
| 2002 | Arson/incendiarism | 4,200 | 31.8 mi | |
| 2012 | Arson/incendiarism | 3,717 | 30.8 mi | |
| 2003 | Debris and open burning | 3,200 | 46.8 mi | |
| 2017 | Arson/incendiarism | 3,058 | 42.4 mi | |
| 2006 | Arson/incendiarism | 2,871 | 48.0 mi | |
| 2011 | Power generation/transmission/distribution | 2,564 | 35.4 mi | |
| 1999 | Debris and open burning | 2,206 | 9.0 mi |
Top 5 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 Crozet. 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.