In 2025, fire departments serving Gainesville responded to 186 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $250K 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 66% of all calls.
Feb peaks. Nov dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
768 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2025. $1.1M cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 116 | — | |
| 2022 | 131 | +12.9% | |
| 2023 | 170 | +29.8% | |
| 2024 | 165 | -2.9% | |
| 2025 | 186 | +12.7% |
For the 5 building fires Gainesville departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 116 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 | 17 | 14.7% | |
| 2 | Cooking area, kitchen | 16 | 13.8% | |
| 3 | Undetermined | 15 | 12.9% | |
| 4 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 13 | 11.2% | |
| 5 | Other | 9 | 7.8% | |
| 6 | Vehicle area, other | 7 | 6.0% | |
| 7 | Laundry area, wash house (laundry) | 4 | 3.4% | |
| 8 | Common room, den, family room, living room, lounge | 3 | 2.6% | |
| 9 | Exterior, exposed surface | 3 | 2.6% | |
| 10 | Multiple areas | 3 | 2.6% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 26 | 22.4% |
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 Gainesville mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 52 | 44.8% | |
| 2 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 13 | 11.2% | |
| 3 | Arcing | 13 | 11.2% | |
| 4 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 10 | 8.6% | |
| 5 | Heat source: other | 8 | 6.9% | |
| 6 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 5 | 4.3% | |
| 7 | Molten, hot material | 2 | 1.7% | |
| 8 | Heat from other open flame or smoking materials | 2 | 1.7% | |
| 9 | Cigarette | 2 | 1.7% | |
| 10 | Lightning | 2 | 1.7% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 7 | 6.0% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Gainesville departments in 2025. These 8 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $250,000 | Fire, other | Major | Investigated |
| 2 | $100,000 | Road freight or transport vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $25,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 4 | $20,000 | Road freight or transport vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 5 | $10,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 6 | $5,000 | Fire, other | Significant | Investigated |
| 7 | $4,900 | Trash or rubbish fire, contained | Significant | Investigated |
| 8 | $500 | Grass fire | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Gainesville sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 36,843 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | Recreation and ceremony | 16,021 | 38.4 mi | |
| 2000 | Arson/incendiarism | 6,131 | 40.5 mi | |
| 2012 | Natural | 2,138 | 39.9 mi | |
| 2011 | Other causes | 1,989 | 30.1 mi | |
| 1999 | Arson/incendiarism | 1,579 | 49.2 mi | |
| 2012 | Natural | 1,200 | 38.1 mi | |
| 2000 | Recreation and ceremony | 1,113 | 41.3 mi | |
| 2019 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 745 | 44.9 mi | |
| 1999 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 640 | 21.7 mi | |
| 2013 | Recreation and ceremony | 608 | 42.8 mi | |
| 2010 | Recreation and ceremony | 560 | 48.5 mi | |
| 2011 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 461 | 30.2 mi |
Top 10 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 Gainesville. 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.