In 2025, fire departments serving Marshall responded to 68 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $50K building blaze. Here's the full picture.
Outside rubbish fire, other lead by count. Building fires lead by dollars. Together the top five categories make up about 59% of all calls.
Feb peaks. May dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
310 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2023. $671K cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 43 | — | |
| 2022 | 66 | +53.5% | |
| 2023 | 82 | +24.2% | |
| 2024 | 51 | -37.8% | |
| 2025 | 68 | +33.3% |
For the 3 building fires Marshall departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 116 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 | 31 | 26.7% | |
| 2 | Wildland, woods | 21 | 18.1% | |
| 3 | Undetermined | 16 | 13.8% | |
| 4 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 13 | 11.2% | |
| 5 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 11 | 9.5% | |
| 6 | Other | 7 | 6.0% | |
| 7 | Highway, parking lot, street: on or near | 4 | 3.4% | |
| 8 | Vehicle area, other | 3 | 2.6% | |
| 9 | Cooking area, kitchen | 2 | 1.7% | |
| 10 | Structural area, other | 2 | 1.7% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 6 | 5.2% |
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 Marshall mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 31 | 26.7% | |
| 2 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 12 | 10.3% | |
| 3 | Arcing | 10 | 8.6% | |
| 4 | Heat source: other | 9 | 7.8% | |
| 5 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 9 | 7.8% | |
| 6 | Hot ember or ash | 7 | 6.0% | |
| 7 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 5 | 4.3% | |
| 8 | Heat from other open flame or smoking materials | 5 | 4.3% | |
| 9 | Flame/torch used for lighting | 5 | 4.3% | |
| 10 | Match | 4 | 3.4% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 19 | 16.4% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Marshall departments in 2025. These 8 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $50,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 2 | $50,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $20,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 4 | $4,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 5 | $3,000 | Mobile property (vehicle) fire, other | Significant | Investigated |
| 6 | $2,500 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 7 | $1,500 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 8 | $1,000 | Forest, woods or wildland fire | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Marshall sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 47,269 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | Recreation and ceremony | 16,021 | 30.5 mi | |
| 2000 | Arson/incendiarism | 6,131 | 33.7 mi | |
| 2002 | Arson/incendiarism | 4,200 | 45.2 mi | |
| 2012 | Natural | 2,138 | 30.3 mi | |
| 2011 | Other causes | 1,989 | 19.2 mi | |
| 2006 | Arson/incendiarism | 1,935 | 40.3 mi | |
| 1999 | Arson/incendiarism | 1,579 | 42.5 mi | |
| 2012 | Natural | 1,200 | 26.3 mi | |
| 2000 | Recreation and ceremony | 1,113 | 33.0 mi | |
| 1995 | Equipment and vehicle use | 1,070 | 44.8 mi | |
| 1997 | Smoking | 1,000 | 47.0 mi | |
| 1999 | Arson/incendiarism | 850 | 42.5 mi |
Top 6 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 Marshall. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
2 departments report to NFIRS for incidents in Marshall.
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.