In 2025, fire departments serving Culpeper responded to 148 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $326K 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 56% of all calls.
Mar peaks. May dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
880 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2024. $4.0M cumulative property loss. 1 civilian deaths.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 155 | — | |
| 2022 | 160 | +3.2% | |
| 2023 | 201 | +25.6% | |
| 2024 | 216 | +7.5% | |
| 2025 | 148 | -31.5% |
For the 24 building fires Culpeper departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 225 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 | Cooking area, kitchen | 37 | 16.4% | |
| 2 | Undetermined | 33 | 14.7% | |
| 3 | Outside area, other | 26 | 11.6% | |
| 4 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 23 | 10.2% | |
| 5 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 20 | 8.9% | |
| 6 | Wildland, woods | 12 | 5.3% | |
| 7 | Vehicle storage area; garage, carport | 9 | 4.0% | |
| 8 | Wall surface: exterior | 6 | 2.7% | |
| 9 | Storage area, other | 5 | 2.2% | |
| 10 | Other | 4 | 1.8% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 50 | 22.2% |
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 Culpeper mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 111 | 49.3% | |
| 2 | Match | 20 | 8.9% | |
| 3 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 17 | 7.6% | |
| 4 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 14 | 6.2% | |
| 5 | Arcing | 10 | 4.4% | |
| 6 | Hot ember or ash | 9 | 4.0% | |
| 7 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 8 | 3.6% | |
| 8 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 8 | 3.6% | |
| 9 | Heat source: other | 5 | 2.2% | |
| 10 | Explosive, fireworks, other | 3 | 1.3% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 20 | 8.9% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Culpeper departments in 2025. These 8 fires alone account for 98% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $326,400 | Building fires | Major | Investigated |
| 2 | $165,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $100,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 4 | $75,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 5 | $50,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 6 | $30,000 | Arcing, shorted electrical equipment | Significant | Investigated |
| 7 | $20,000 | Off-road vehicle or heavy equipment fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 8 | $15,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Culpeper sits below the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 68,248 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 | 19.3 mi | |
| 2016 | Recreation and ceremony | 10,326 | 36.6 mi | |
| 2000 | Arson/incendiarism | 6,131 | 17.6 mi | |
| 2008 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 4,505 | 38.2 mi | |
| 2002 | Arson/incendiarism | 4,200 | 29.9 mi | |
| 2012 | Arson/incendiarism | 3,717 | 35.4 mi | |
| 1999 | Debris and open burning | 2,206 | 45.2 mi | |
| 2012 | Natural | 2,138 | 25.3 mi | |
| 2011 | Other causes | 1,989 | 25.5 mi | |
| 2006 | Arson/incendiarism | 1,935 | 33.1 mi | |
| 1999 | Arson/incendiarism | 1,579 | 24.0 mi | |
| 1998 | Recreation and ceremony | 1,431 | 46.7 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 Culpeper. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
4 departments report to NFIRS for incidents in Culpeper.
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.