In 2025, fire departments serving Grafton responded to 124 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $250K building blaze. Here's the full picture.
Power line down lead by count. Building fires lead by dollars. Together the top five categories make up about 76% of all calls.
Mar peaks. Oct dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
600 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2022. $2.7M cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 116 | — | |
| 2022 | 135 | +16.4% | |
| 2023 | 118 | -12.6% | |
| 2024 | 107 | -9.3% | |
| 2025 | 124 | +15.9% |
For the 21 building fires Grafton departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 132 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 | 37 | 28.0% | |
| 2 | Wildland, woods | 14 | 10.6% | |
| 3 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 11 | 8.3% | |
| 4 | Cooking area, kitchen | 6 | 4.5% | |
| 5 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 5 | 3.8% | |
| 6 | Structural area, other | 4 | 3.0% | |
| 7 | Wall assembly | 4 | 3.0% | |
| 8 | Outside area, other | 4 | 3.0% | |
| 9 | Storage: supplies or tools; dead storage | 3 | 2.3% | |
| 10 | Exterior balcony, unenclosed porch | 3 | 2.3% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 41 | 31.1% |
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 Grafton mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 75 | 56.8% | |
| 2 | Hot ember or ash | 14 | 10.6% | |
| 3 | Arcing | 8 | 6.1% | |
| 4 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 7 | 5.3% | |
| 5 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 5 | 3.8% | |
| 6 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 5 | 3.8% | |
| 7 | Heat, spark from friction | 2 | 1.5% | |
| 8 | Cigarette lighter | 2 | 1.5% | |
| 9 | Heat spread from another fire, other | 2 | 1.5% | |
| 10 | Heat from direct flame, convection currents | 2 | 1.5% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 10 | 7.6% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Grafton departments in 2025. These 8 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $249,600 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 2 | $40,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $40,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 4 | $20,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 5 | $15,000 | Road freight or transport vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 6 | $10,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 7 | $5,000 | Outside gas or vapor combustion explosion | Significant | Investigated |
| 8 | $500 | Mobile property (vehicle) fire, other | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Grafton sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 4,484 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2001 | Equipment and vehicle use | 1,800 | 48.2 mi | |
| 2016 | Smoking | 394 | 32.0 mi | |
| 2017 | Recreation and ceremony | 197 | 48.8 mi | |
| 2009 | Railroad operations and maintenance | 150 | 31.6 mi | |
| 2015 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 150 | 36.7 mi | |
| 2012 | Equipment and vehicle use | 147 | 47.4 mi | |
| 2009 | Railroad operations and maintenance | 125 | 31.7 mi | |
| 2010 | Equipment and vehicle use | 121 | 44.7 mi | |
| 2010 | Debris and open burning | 120 | 41.5 mi | |
| 2002 | Recreation and ceremony | 117 | 33.0 mi | |
| 1995 | Debris and open burning | 115 | 48.3 mi | |
| 1995 | Debris and open burning | 115 | 48.3 mi |
Top 8 ZIP codes by NFIRS incident count across 2021–2025. Each ZIP has its own fire profile — dive in for neighborhood-level context.
Six West Virginia cities with population within ±25% of Grafton. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
1 departments report to NFIRS for incidents in Grafton.
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.