In 2025, fire departments serving Lovettsville responded to 68 fire and hazmat incidents . 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.
Mar peaks. May dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
233 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2025. $790K cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 37 | — | |
| 2022 | 38 | +2.7% | |
| 2023 | 47 | +23.7% | |
| 2024 | 43 | -8.5% | |
| 2025 | 68 | +58.1% |
For the 3 building fires Lovettsville departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 45 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 | 13 | 28.9% | |
| 2 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 9 | 20.0% | |
| 3 | Other | 5 | 11.1% | |
| 4 | Outside area, other | 3 | 6.7% | |
| 5 | Exterior balcony, unenclosed porch | 2 | 4.4% | |
| 6 | Exterior stairway, ramp, or fire escape | 1 | 2.2% | |
| 7 | Egress/exit, other | 1 | 2.2% | |
| 8 | Common room, den, family room, living room, lounge | 1 | 2.2% | |
| 9 | Cooking area, kitchen | 1 | 2.2% | |
| 10 | Storage area, other | 1 | 2.2% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 8 | 17.8% |
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 Lovettsville mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 16 | 35.6% | |
| 2 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 5 | 11.1% | |
| 3 | Heat source: other | 3 | 6.7% | |
| 4 | Flying brand, ember, spark | 3 | 6.7% | |
| 5 | Arcing | 2 | 4.4% | |
| 6 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 2 | 4.4% | |
| 7 | Hot ember or ash | 2 | 4.4% | |
| 8 | Candle | 2 | 4.4% | |
| 9 | Chemical reaction | 2 | 4.4% | |
| 10 | Heat spread from another fire, other | 2 | 4.4% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 6 | 13.3% |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Lovettsville sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 8,140 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2011 | Other causes | 1,989 | 43.8 mi | |
| 2012 | Natural | 1,200 | 46.1 mi | |
| 2001 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 1,000 | 34.1 mi | |
| 2011 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 461 | 21.4 mi | |
| 1996 | Recreation and ceremony | 405 | 14.7 mi | |
| 1996 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 400 | 15.7 mi | |
| 1996 | Arson/incendiarism | 350 | 17.7 mi | |
| 2006 | Arson/incendiarism | 318 | 48.0 mi | |
| 2008 | Natural | 300 | 42.0 mi | |
| 1999 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 250 | 48.8 mi | |
| 1999 | Smoking | 230 | 47.3 mi | |
| 2011 | Natural | 166 | 44.2 mi |
Top 1 ZIP codes by NFIRS incident count across 2021–2025. Each ZIP has its own fire profile — dive in for neighborhood-level context.
| # | ZIP | 5-yr incidents | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 20180 | 233 |
Six Virginia cities with population within ±25% of Lovettsville. 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.