In 2025, fire departments serving Gate City responded to 58 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $140K 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 50% of all calls.
Mar peaks. Dec dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
259 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2021. $1.5M cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 59 | — | |
| 2022 | 52 | -11.9% | |
| 2023 | 47 | -9.6% | |
| 2024 | 43 | -8.5% | |
| 2025 | 58 | +34.9% |
For the 11 building fires Gate City departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 61 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 | 19 | 31.1% | |
| 2 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 7 | 11.5% | |
| 3 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 6 | 9.8% | |
| 4 | Cooking area, kitchen | 5 | 8.2% | |
| 5 | Bathroom, checkroom, lavatory, locker room | 3 | 4.9% | |
| 6 | Laundry area, wash house (laundry) | 3 | 4.9% | |
| 7 | Storage area, other | 3 | 4.9% | |
| 8 | Bedroom - < 5 persons; included are jail or prison | 2 | 3.3% | |
| 9 | Vehicle area, other | 2 | 3.3% | |
| 10 | Outside area, other | 2 | 3.3% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 9 | 14.8% |
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 Gate City mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 40 | 65.6% | |
| 2 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 6 | 9.8% | |
| 3 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 3 | 4.9% | |
| 4 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 3 | 4.9% | |
| 5 | Candle | 3 | 4.9% | |
| 6 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 1 | 1.6% | |
| 7 | Arcing | 1 | 1.6% | |
| 8 | Heat from other open flame or smoking materials | 1 | 1.6% | |
| 9 | Cigarette | 1 | 1.6% | |
| 10 | Lightning | 1 | 1.6% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 1 | 1.6% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Gate City departments in 2025. These 8 fires alone account for 97% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $140,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 2 | $95,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $85,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 4 | $80,000 | Fire in mobile home used as fixed residence | Significant | Investigated |
| 5 | $72,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 6 | $25,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 7 | $20,000 | Fire in mobile home used as fixed residence | Significant | Investigated |
| 8 | $10,000 | Off-road vehicle or heavy equipment fire | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Gate City sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 64,583 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | Recreation and ceremony | 7,400 | 37.6 mi | |
| 2000 | Arson/incendiarism | 3,539 | 42.7 mi | |
| 2000 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 3,300 | 31.9 mi | |
| 1999 | Arson/incendiarism | 3,200 | 45.3 mi | |
| 1999 | Arson/incendiarism | 3,100 | 45.3 mi | |
| 2000 | Arson/incendiarism | 3,040 | 40.3 mi | |
| 2005 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 3,000 | 46.0 mi | |
| 2016 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 2,765 | 35.9 mi | |
| 2000 | Debris and open burning | 2,738 | 44.3 mi | |
| 1999 | Arson/incendiarism | 2,500 | 49.3 mi | |
| 2001 | Arson/incendiarism | 2,500 | 49.5 mi | |
| 2016 | Arson/incendiarism | 2,402 | 36.6 mi |
Top 4 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 Gate City. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
1 departments report to NFIRS for incidents in Gate City.
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.