In 2025, fire departments serving Elkview responded to 82 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $100K 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 68% of all calls.
Mar peaks. Dec dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
615 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2023. $1.4M cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 117 | — | |
| 2022 | 127 | +8.5% | |
| 2023 | 149 | +17.3% | |
| 2024 | 140 | -6.0% | |
| 2025 | 82 | -41.4% |
For the 24 building fires Elkview departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 256 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 | 102 | 39.8% | |
| 2 | Outside area, other | 47 | 18.4% | |
| 3 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 20 | 7.8% | |
| 4 | Multiple areas | 12 | 4.7% | |
| 5 | Wildland, woods | 10 | 3.9% | |
| 6 | Other | 9 | 3.5% | |
| 7 | Cooking area, kitchen | 9 | 3.5% | |
| 8 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 6 | 2.3% | |
| 9 | Common room, den, family room, living room, lounge | 4 | 1.6% | |
| 10 | Bedroom - < 5 persons; included are jail or prison | 4 | 1.6% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 33 | 12.9% |
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 Elkview mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 184 | 71.9% | |
| 2 | Arcing | 19 | 7.4% | |
| 3 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 10 | 3.9% | |
| 4 | Hot ember or ash | 6 | 2.3% | |
| 5 | Heat source: other | 5 | 2.0% | |
| 6 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 5 | 2.0% | |
| 7 | Heat from other open flame or smoking materials | 5 | 2.0% | |
| 8 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 4 | 1.6% | |
| 9 | Radiated heat from another fire | 4 | 1.6% | |
| 10 | Lightning | 3 | 1.2% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 11 | 4.3% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Elkview departments in 2025. These 8 fires alone account for 96% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $100,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 2 | $50,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $40,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 4 | $30,000 | Fire in motor home, camper, recreational vehicle | Significant | Investigated |
| 5 | $20,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 6 | $15,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 7 | $8,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 8 | $5,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Elkview sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 55,599 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 | 22.2 mi | |
| 1999 | Fireworks | 3,706 | 26.3 mi | |
| 1999 | Arson/incendiarism | 3,484 | 41.7 mi | |
| 1999 | Fireworks | 3,358 | 34.1 mi | |
| 1999 | Arson/incendiarism | 3,328 | 26.4 mi | |
| 1999 | Fireworks | 3,171 | 34.0 mi | |
| 1999 | Arson/incendiarism | 3,082 | 34.4 mi | |
| 2001 | Arson/incendiarism | 2,250 | 36.3 mi | |
| 1999 | Arson/incendiarism | 2,090 | 48.2 mi | |
| 2001 | Fireworks | 2,063 | 34.6 mi | |
| 1999 | Arson/incendiarism | 2,033 | 14.4 mi | |
| 2001 | Fireworks | 1,940 | 35.5 mi |
Top 6 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 Elkview. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
2 departments report to NFIRS for incidents in Elkview.
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.