In 2025, fire departments serving Dunbar responded to 72 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $80K 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 65% of all calls.
Jan peaks. Dec dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
590 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2024. $1.5M cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 119 | — | |
| 2022 | 126 | +5.9% | |
| 2023 | 134 | +6.3% | |
| 2024 | 139 | +3.7% | |
| 2025 | 72 | -48.2% |
For the 9 building fires Dunbar departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 87 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 | 29 | 33.3% | |
| 2 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 9 | 10.3% | |
| 3 | Cooking area, kitchen | 6 | 6.9% | |
| 4 | Common room, den, family room, living room, lounge | 5 | 5.7% | |
| 5 | Bedroom - < 5 persons; included are jail or prison | 5 | 5.7% | |
| 6 | Other | 4 | 4.6% | |
| 7 | Outside area, other | 4 | 4.6% | |
| 8 | Entrance way, lobby | 2 | 2.3% | |
| 9 | Laundry area, wash house (laundry) | 2 | 2.3% | |
| 10 | Storage area, other | 2 | 2.3% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 19 | 21.8% |
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 Dunbar mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 67 | 77.0% | |
| 2 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 5 | 5.7% | |
| 3 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 4 | 4.6% | |
| 4 | Radiated heat from another fire | 4 | 4.6% | |
| 5 | Arcing | 1 | 1.1% | |
| 6 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 1 | 1.1% | |
| 7 | Heat, spark from friction | 1 | 1.1% | |
| 8 | Cigarette | 1 | 1.1% | |
| 9 | Cigarette lighter | 1 | 1.1% | |
| 10 | Heat spread from another fire, other | 1 | 1.1% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 1 | 1.1% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Dunbar departments in 2025. These 8 fires alone account for 88% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $80,000 | Fire, other | Significant | Investigated |
| 2 | $30,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $20,000 | Fire, other | Significant | Investigated |
| 4 | $15,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 5 | $14,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 6 | $10,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 7 | $10,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 8 | $7,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Dunbar sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 59,509 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1999 | Fireworks | 4,637 | 27.5 mi | |
| 1999 | Fireworks | 3,706 | 35.5 mi | |
| 1999 | Arson/incendiarism | 3,484 | 39.2 mi | |
| 1999 | Fireworks | 3,358 | 35.1 mi | |
| 1999 | Arson/incendiarism | 3,328 | 16.4 mi | |
| 2001 | Fireworks | 3,186 | 45.8 mi | |
| 1999 | Fireworks | 3,171 | 29.1 mi | |
| 1999 | Arson/incendiarism | 3,082 | 25.1 mi | |
| 2001 | Arson/incendiarism | 2,250 | 25.2 mi | |
| 1994 | Arson/incendiarism | 2,233 | 45.2 mi | |
| 1999 | Arson/incendiarism | 2,090 | 35.1 mi | |
| 2001 | Fireworks | 2,063 | 29.7 mi |
Top 3 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 Dunbar. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
1 departments report to NFIRS for incidents in Dunbar.
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.