In 2025, fire departments serving Max Meadows responded to 22 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $150K 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 55% of all calls.
Nov peaks. Apr dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
95 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2021. $721K cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 24 | — | |
| 2022 | 21 | -12.5% | |
| 2023 | 16 | -23.8% | |
| 2024 | 12 | -25.0% | |
| 2025 | 22 | +83.3% |
For the 4 building fires Max Meadows departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 22 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 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 6 | 27.3% | |
| 2 | Wall surface: exterior | 3 | 13.6% | |
| 3 | Other | 2 | 9.1% | |
| 4 | Cooking area, kitchen | 2 | 9.1% | |
| 5 | Undetermined | 2 | 9.1% | |
| 6 | Storage area, other | 1 | 4.5% | |
| 7 | Storage room, area, tank, or bin | 1 | 4.5% | |
| 8 | Attic: vacant, crawl space above top story, cupola | 1 | 4.5% | |
| 9 | Awning | 1 | 4.5% | |
| 10 | Operator/passenger area of transportation equip. | 1 | 4.5% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 2 | 9.1% |
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 Max Meadows mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 5 | 22.7% | |
| 2 | Heat source: other | 3 | 13.6% | |
| 3 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 2 | 9.1% | |
| 4 | Hot ember or ash | 2 | 9.1% | |
| 5 | Radiated heat from another fire | 2 | 9.1% | |
| 6 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 1 | 4.5% | |
| 7 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 1 | 4.5% | |
| 8 | Arcing | 1 | 4.5% | |
| 9 | Heat, spark from friction | 1 | 4.5% | |
| 10 | Incendiary device | 1 | 4.5% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 3 | 13.6% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Max Meadows departments in 2025. These 8 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $150,000 | Road freight or transport vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 2 | $75,000 | Fire, other | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $50,000 | Rail vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 4 | $10,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 5 | $10,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 6 | $5,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 7 | $5,000 | Fire in mobile home used as fixed residence | Significant | Investigated |
| 8 | $3,500 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Max Meadows sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 32,898 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2001 | Arson/incendiarism | 5,832 | 47.7 mi | |
| 2001 | Arson/incendiarism | 4,850 | 49.6 mi | |
| 2006 | Natural | 3,696 | 45.8 mi | |
| 2013 | Smoking | 1,509 | 16.5 mi | |
| 1995 | Arson/incendiarism | 1,485 | 47.7 mi | |
| 2001 | Fireworks | 1,098 | 46.5 mi | |
| 2001 | Arson/incendiarism | 1,094 | 42.6 mi | |
| 2007 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 1,050 | 45.9 mi | |
| 2000 | Arson/incendiarism | 1,019 | 47.8 mi | |
| 2014 | Power generation/transmission/distribution | 992 | 41.8 mi | |
| 1995 | Arson/incendiarism | 880 | 46.7 mi | |
| 2006 | Power generation/transmission/distribution | 850 | 47.5 mi |
Top 3 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 Max Meadows. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
1 departments report to NFIRS for incidents in Max Meadows.
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.