In 2025, fire departments serving Mason responded to 27 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $200K 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 70% of all calls.
Jan peaks. May dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
175 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2021. $1.5M cumulative property loss. 1 civilian deaths.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 39 | — | |
| 2022 | 34 | -12.8% | |
| 2023 | 37 | +8.8% | |
| 2024 | 38 | +2.7% | |
| 2025 | 27 | -28.9% |
For the 6 building fires Mason departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 31 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 | 6 | 19.4% | |
| 2 | Structural area, other | 3 | 9.7% | |
| 3 | Exterior balcony, unenclosed porch | 3 | 9.7% | |
| 4 | Cooking area, kitchen | 2 | 6.5% | |
| 5 | Substructure area or space, crawl space | 2 | 6.5% | |
| 6 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 2 | 6.5% | |
| 7 | Other | 1 | 3.2% | |
| 8 | Common room, den, family room, living room, lounge | 1 | 3.2% | |
| 9 | Bathroom, checkroom, lavatory, locker room | 1 | 3.2% | |
| 10 | Laundry area, wash house (laundry) | 1 | 3.2% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 9 | 29.0% |
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 Mason mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Heat source: other | 12 | 38.7% | |
| 2 | Undetermined | 10 | 32.3% | |
| 3 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 3 | 9.7% | |
| 4 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 2 | 6.5% | |
| 5 | Hot ember or ash | 2 | 6.5% | |
| 6 | Cigarette lighter | 2 | 6.5% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Mason departments in 2025. These 5 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $200,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 2 | $182,128 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $182,128 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 4 | $7,500 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 5 | $400 | Fire, other | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Mason sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 5,037 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 355 | 46.2 mi | |
| 2009 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 310 | 34.5 mi | |
| 2005 | Equipment and vehicle use | 303 | 40.5 mi | |
| 2001 | Arson/incendiarism | 300 | 34.9 mi | |
| 2013 | Arson/incendiarism | 280 | 40.0 mi | |
| 2001 | Debris and open burning | 242 | 48.8 mi | |
| 1999 | Debris and open burning | 201 | 39.7 mi | |
| 2009 | Debris and open burning | 200 | 47.9 mi | |
| 2006 | Arson/incendiarism | 200 | 39.8 mi | |
| 2009 | Debris and open burning | 200 | 44.8 mi | |
| 2009 | Arson/incendiarism | 197 | 34.9 mi | |
| 2001 | Debris and open burning | 195 | 48.1 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 West Virginia cities with population within ±25% of Mason. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
1 departments report to NFIRS for incidents in Mason.
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.