In 2025, fire departments serving Davis responded to 25 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $95K building blaze. Here's the full picture.
Vehicle accident, general cleanup lead by count. Building fires lead by dollars. Together the top five categories make up about 96% of all calls.
Jan peaks. Mar dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
104 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2025. $140K cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 18 | — | |
| 2022 | 17 | -5.6% | |
| 2023 | 21 | +23.5% | |
| 2024 | 23 | +9.5% | |
| 2025 | 25 | +8.7% |
For the 5 building fires Davis departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 8 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 | Other | 2 | 25.0% | |
| 2 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 2 | 25.0% | |
| 3 | Bedroom - < 5 persons; included are jail or prison | 1 | 12.5% | |
| 4 | Chute/container - trash, rubbish, waste | 1 | 12.5% | |
| 5 | Outside area, other | 1 | 12.5% | |
| 6 | Wildland, woods | 1 | 12.5% |
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 Davis mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 3 | 37.5% | |
| 2 | Undetermined | 2 | 25.0% | |
| 3 | Heat source: other | 1 | 12.5% | |
| 4 | Arcing | 1 | 12.5% | |
| 5 | Hot ember or ash | 1 | 12.5% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Davis departments in 2025. These 1 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $95,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Davis sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 18,564 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | Natural | 2,743 | 29.5 mi | |
| 2011 | Power generation/transmission/distribution | 2,564 | 48.8 mi | |
| 2001 | Equipment and vehicle use | 1,800 | 15.3 mi | |
| 2013 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 1,611 | 20.7 mi | |
| 2019 | Power generation/transmission/distribution | 1,289 | 22.6 mi | |
| 2018 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 1,000 | 42.0 mi | |
| 2011 | Arson/incendiarism | 914 | 43.9 mi | |
| 2012 | Recreation and ceremony | 755 | 43.7 mi | |
| 2015 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 644 | 47.7 mi | |
| 2010 | Debris and open burning | 610 | 43.9 mi | |
| 1994 | Arson/incendiarism | 546 | 27.1 mi | |
| 2001 | Smoking | 467 | 29.7 mi |
Top 2 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 Davis. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
2 departments report to NFIRS for incidents in Davis.
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.