In 2025, fire departments serving Falling Waters responded to 133 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 59% of all calls.
Mar peaks. Oct dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
598 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2025. $26.4M cumulative property loss. 2 civilian deaths.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 93 | — | |
| 2022 | 125 | +34.4% | |
| 2023 | 126 | +0.8% | |
| 2024 | 121 | -4.0% | |
| 2025 | 133 | +9.9% |
For the 25 building fires Falling Waters departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 95 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 | 27 | 28.4% | |
| 2 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 18 | 18.9% | |
| 3 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 7 | 7.4% | |
| 4 | Cooking area, kitchen | 6 | 6.3% | |
| 5 | Exterior balcony, unenclosed porch | 5 | 5.3% | |
| 6 | Other | 3 | 3.2% | |
| 7 | Bedroom - < 5 persons; included are jail or prison | 3 | 3.2% | |
| 8 | Vehicle storage area; garage, carport | 3 | 3.2% | |
| 9 | Wall surface: exterior | 3 | 3.2% | |
| 10 | Common room, den, family room, living room, lounge | 2 | 2.1% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 18 | 18.9% |
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 Falling Waters mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 48 | 50.5% | |
| 2 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 12 | 12.6% | |
| 3 | Arcing | 6 | 6.3% | |
| 4 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 6 | 6.3% | |
| 5 | Heat, spark from friction | 4 | 4.2% | |
| 6 | Hot ember or ash | 4 | 4.2% | |
| 7 | Heat source: other | 3 | 3.2% | |
| 8 | Flying brand, ember, spark | 3 | 3.2% | |
| 9 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 2 | 2.1% | |
| 10 | Radiated heat from another fire | 2 | 2.1% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 5 | 5.3% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Falling Waters departments in 2025. These 8 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $100,000 | Fire in motor home, camper, recreational vehicle | Significant | Investigated |
| 2 | $17,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $15,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 4 | $10,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 5 | $1,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 6 | $1,000 | Fire, other | Significant | Investigated |
| 7 | $750 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 8 | $500 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Falling Waters sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
5 fire-related casualties recorded in NFIRS Module 11 across the 2021–2025 window. Age, gender, and severity are coarse-binned — no individual identification possible.
| Age | Count | |
|---|---|---|
| 0-9 | 0 | |
| 10-19 | 0 | |
| 20-29 | 0 | |
| 30-39 | 1 | |
| 40-49 | 0 | |
| 50-59 | 0 | |
| 60-69 | 0 | |
| 70-79 | 1 | |
| 80+ | 0 |
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 5,949 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2001 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 1,000 | 10.3 mi | |
| 2014 | Arson/incendiarism | 888 | 45.7 mi | |
| 2011 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 461 | 43.9 mi | |
| 1996 | Recreation and ceremony | 405 | 30.2 mi | |
| 1996 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 400 | 31.1 mi | |
| 1996 | Arson/incendiarism | 350 | 32.4 mi | |
| 2016 | Arson/incendiarism | 345 | 41.9 mi | |
| 2008 | Natural | 300 | 48.0 mi | |
| 2000 | Natural | 300 | 49.7 mi | |
| 1999 | Smoking | 230 | 49.2 mi | |
| 2011 | Natural | 166 | 49.8 mi | |
| 1995 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 150 | 28.1 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 West Virginia cities with population within ±25% of Falling Waters. 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.