In 2025, fire departments serving Falls Church responded to 22 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $25K building blaze. Here's the full picture.
Gas leak (natural gas or LPG) lead by count. Building fires lead by dollars. Together the top five categories make up about 91% of all calls.
Feb peaks. Oct dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
160 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2021. $25K cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 46 | — | |
| 2022 | 24 | -47.8% | |
| 2023 | 37 | +54.2% | |
| 2024 | 31 | -16.2% | |
| 2025 | 22 | -29.0% |
For the 4 building fires Falls Church departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 6 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 | 1 | 16.7% | |
| 2 | Closet | 1 | 16.7% | |
| 3 | Vehicle area, other | 1 | 16.7% | |
| 4 | Outside area, other | 1 | 16.7% | |
| 5 | Highway, parking lot, street: on or near | 1 | 16.7% | |
| 6 | Undetermined | 1 | 16.7% |
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 Falls Church mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 2 | 33.3% | |
| 2 | Undetermined | 2 | 33.3% | |
| 3 | Heat source: other | 1 | 16.7% | |
| 4 | Arcing | 1 | 16.7% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Falls Church departments in 2025. These 1 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $25,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Falls Church sits below the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 5,937 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1999 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 640 | 26.2 mi | |
| 2011 | Recreation and ceremony | 500 | 26.0 mi | |
| 2011 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 461 | 18.1 mi | |
| 2011 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 431 | 15.3 mi | |
| 2003 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 408 | 42.0 mi | |
| 1996 | Recreation and ceremony | 405 | 39.4 mi | |
| 1996 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 400 | 39.6 mi | |
| 1996 | Arson/incendiarism | 350 | 40.5 mi | |
| 2011 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 344 | 34.1 mi | |
| 2006 | Arson/incendiarism | 318 | 23.6 mi | |
| 1999 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 250 | 24.7 mi | |
| 1999 | Debris and open burning | 200 | 35.9 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 Falls Church. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
1 departments report to NFIRS for incidents in Falls Church.
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.