In 2025, fire departments serving Goochland responded to 40 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $18K 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 55% of all calls.
Jun peaks. Apr dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
245 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2023. $377K cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 33 | — | |
| 2022 | 56 | +69.7% | |
| 2023 | 66 | +17.9% | |
| 2024 | 50 | -24.2% | |
| 2025 | 40 | -20.0% |
For the 0 building fires Goochland departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 76 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 | 14 | 18.4% | |
| 2 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 12 | 15.8% | |
| 3 | Highway, parking lot, street: on or near | 7 | 9.2% | |
| 4 | Undetermined | 7 | 9.2% | |
| 5 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 6 | 7.9% | |
| 6 | Cooking area, kitchen | 4 | 5.3% | |
| 7 | Storage: supplies or tools; dead storage | 4 | 5.3% | |
| 8 | Operator/passenger area of transportation equip. | 4 | 5.3% | |
| 9 | Vehicle storage area; garage, carport | 2 | 2.6% | |
| 10 | Substructure area or space, crawl space | 2 | 2.6% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 14 | 18.4% |
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 Goochland mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 30 | 39.5% | |
| 2 | Arcing | 13 | 17.1% | |
| 3 | Hot ember or ash | 5 | 6.6% | |
| 4 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 4 | 5.3% | |
| 5 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 4 | 5.3% | |
| 6 | Heat source: other | 3 | 3.9% | |
| 7 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 2 | 2.6% | |
| 8 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 2 | 2.6% | |
| 9 | Heat, spark from friction | 2 | 2.6% | |
| 10 | Match | 2 | 2.6% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 9 | 11.8% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Goochland departments in 2025. These 2 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $18,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 2 | $2,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Goochland sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 14,256 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 | 4,505 | 22.1 mi | |
| 1995 | Debris and open burning | 1,200 | 47.7 mi | |
| 2001 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 1,014 | 47.9 mi | |
| 2011 | Power generation/transmission/distribution | 907 | 23.5 mi | |
| 2001 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 865 | 48.3 mi | |
| 2001 | Arson/incendiarism | 850 | 41.8 mi | |
| 2008 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 821 | 29.0 mi | |
| 2011 | Debris and open burning | 609 | 44.8 mi | |
| 2008 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 414 | 23.0 mi | |
| 2020 | Debris and open burning | 320 | 43.3 mi | |
| 2018 | Power generation/transmission/distribution | 302 | 29.3 mi | |
| 2011 | Power generation/transmission/distribution | 273 | 5.3 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 Goochland. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
4 departments report to NFIRS for incidents in Goochland.
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.