In 2025, fire departments serving Madison Heights responded to 185 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $606K 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 62% of all calls.
Jan peaks. May dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
731 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2025. $981K cumulative property loss. 1 civilian deaths.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 138 | — | |
| 2022 | 133 | -3.6% | |
| 2023 | 154 | +15.8% | |
| 2024 | 121 | -21.4% | |
| 2025 | 185 | +52.9% |
For the 38 building fires Madison Heights departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 327 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 | 88 | 26.9% | |
| 2 | Undetermined | 62 | 19.0% | |
| 3 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 35 | 10.7% | |
| 4 | Wildland, woods | 26 | 8.0% | |
| 5 | Other | 16 | 4.9% | |
| 6 | Cooking area, kitchen | 15 | 4.6% | |
| 7 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 14 | 4.3% | |
| 8 | Vehicle area, other | 8 | 2.4% | |
| 9 | Bedroom - < 5 persons; included are jail or prison | 7 | 2.1% | |
| 10 | Structural area, other | 6 | 1.8% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 50 | 15.3% |
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 Madison Heights mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 213 | 65.1% | |
| 2 | Hot ember or ash | 19 | 5.8% | |
| 3 | Arcing | 16 | 4.9% | |
| 4 | Heat source: other | 12 | 3.7% | |
| 5 | Radiated heat from another fire | 9 | 2.8% | |
| 6 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 7 | 2.1% | |
| 7 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 6 | 1.8% | |
| 8 | Heat from other open flame or smoking materials | 6 | 1.8% | |
| 9 | Heat from direct flame, convection currents | 6 | 1.8% | |
| 10 | Flying brand, ember, spark | 5 | 1.5% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 28 | 8.6% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Madison Heights departments in 2025. These 8 fires alone account for 99% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $605,700 | Building fires | Major | Investigated |
| 2 | $162,400 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $69,900 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 4 | $50,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 5 | $50,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 6 | $15,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 7 | $10,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 8 | $10,000 | Fire, other | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Madison Heights sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 62,744 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2012 | Arson/incendiarism | 15,454 | 40.7 mi | |
| 2016 | Debris and open burning | 11,229 | 19.3 mi | |
| 2008 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 3,990 | 48.2 mi | |
| 2003 | Debris and open burning | 3,200 | 41.4 mi | |
| 2017 | Arson/incendiarism | 3,058 | 38.7 mi | |
| 2002 | Natural | 2,935 | 22.4 mi | |
| 2006 | Arson/incendiarism | 2,871 | 18.3 mi | |
| 2018 | Equipment and vehicle use | 2,057 | 30.9 mi | |
| 2015 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 1,676 | 31.6 mi | |
| 2016 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 1,614 | 26.5 mi | |
| 2008 | Equipment and vehicle use | 1,550 | 36.4 mi | |
| 2008 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 1,300 | 22.3 mi |
Top 5 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 Madison Heights. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
1 departments report to NFIRS for incidents in Madison Heights.
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.