In 2025, fire departments serving Farmville responded to 39 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $750K 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 62% of all calls.
Mar peaks. Jan dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
307 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2022. $2.6M cumulative property loss. 1 civilian deaths.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 73 | — | |
| 2022 | 79 | +8.2% | |
| 2023 | 55 | -30.4% | |
| 2024 | 61 | +10.9% | |
| 2025 | 39 | -36.1% |
For the 11 building fires Farmville departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 192 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 | Outside area, other | 30 | 15.6% | |
| 2 | Cooking area, kitchen | 24 | 12.5% | |
| 3 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 22 | 11.5% | |
| 4 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 14 | 7.3% | |
| 5 | Highway, parking lot, street: on or near | 13 | 6.8% | |
| 6 | Undetermined | 11 | 5.7% | |
| 7 | Equipment or service area, other | 10 | 5.2% | |
| 8 | Storage area, other | 7 | 3.6% | |
| 9 | Vehicle area, other | 7 | 3.6% | |
| 10 | Bedroom - < 5 persons; included are jail or prison | 6 | 3.1% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 48 | 25.0% |
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 Farmville mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 83 | 43.2% | |
| 2 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 21 | 10.9% | |
| 3 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 20 | 10.4% | |
| 4 | Heat source: other | 11 | 5.7% | |
| 5 | Arcing | 11 | 5.7% | |
| 6 | Hot ember or ash | 8 | 4.2% | |
| 7 | Heat, spark from friction | 7 | 3.6% | |
| 8 | Match | 5 | 2.6% | |
| 9 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 4 | 2.1% | |
| 10 | Radiated heat from another fire | 4 | 2.1% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 18 | 9.4% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Farmville departments in 2025. These 8 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $750,000 | Off-road vehicle or heavy equipment fire | Major | Investigated |
| 2 | $85,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $50,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 4 | $10,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 5 | $10,000 | Outside equipment fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 6 | $10,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 7 | $250 | Fire, other | Significant | Investigated |
| 8 | $100 | Fire, other | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Farmville sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 8,046 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2008 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 2,012 | 47.5 mi | |
| 2008 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 1,521 | 47.3 mi | |
| 2008 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 300 | 18.9 mi | |
| 2000 | Equipment and vehicle use | 300 | 34.0 mi | |
| 2000 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 288 | 49.7 mi | |
| 2010 | Smoking | 274 | 32.7 mi | |
| 2009 | Debris and open burning | 251 | 17.3 mi | |
| 1995 | Natural | 240 | 44.9 mi | |
| 1992 | Arson/incendiarism | 230 | 37.2 mi | |
| 2008 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 208 | 49.2 mi | |
| 1999 | Misuse of fire by a minor | 195 | 49.8 mi | |
| 2010 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 194 | 48.1 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 North Carolina cities with population within ±25% of Farmville. 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.