In 2025, fire departments serving Meadow Bridge responded to 28 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $5K building blaze. Here's the full picture.
Vehicle accident, general cleanup lead by count. Building fires lead by dollars. Together the top five categories make up about 82% of all calls.
Jan peaks. Sep dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
162 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2021. $667K cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 45 | — | |
| 2022 | 23 | -48.9% | |
| 2023 | 26 | +13.0% | |
| 2024 | 40 | +53.8% | |
| 2025 | 28 | -30.0% |
For the 0 building fires Meadow Bridge departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 17 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 | 4 | 23.5% | |
| 2 | Cooking area, kitchen | 2 | 11.8% | |
| 3 | Wall surface: exterior | 2 | 11.8% | |
| 4 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 2 | 11.8% | |
| 5 | Wildland, woods | 2 | 11.8% | |
| 6 | Bedroom - < 5 persons; included are jail or prison | 1 | 5.9% | |
| 7 | Closet | 1 | 5.9% | |
| 8 | Operator/passenger area of transportation equip. | 1 | 5.9% | |
| 9 | Cargo/trunk area - all vehicles | 1 | 5.9% | |
| 10 | Outside area, other | 1 | 5.9% |
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 Meadow Bridge mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 6 | 35.3% | |
| 2 | Hot ember or ash | 5 | 29.4% | |
| 3 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 2 | 11.8% | |
| 4 | Arcing | 2 | 11.8% | |
| 5 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 1 | 5.9% | |
| 6 | Heat, spark from friction | 1 | 5.9% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Meadow Bridge departments in 2025. These 1 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $5,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Meadow Bridge sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 71,475 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2012 | Railroad operations and maintenance | 11,381 | 36.6 mi | |
| 2012 | Fireworks | 7,351 | 46.2 mi | |
| 1999 | Fireworks | 4,637 | 31.7 mi | |
| 1999 | Fireworks | 3,706 | 25.8 mi | |
| 1999 | Arson/incendiarism | 3,484 | 35.5 mi | |
| 1999 | Fireworks | 3,358 | 29.0 mi | |
| 2001 | Fireworks | 3,186 | 49.0 mi | |
| 1999 | Fireworks | 3,171 | 42.7 mi | |
| 2000 | Arson/incendiarism | 2,859 | 32.6 mi | |
| 2000 | Arson/incendiarism | 2,533 | 48.3 mi | |
| 1995 | Smoking | 2,151 | 49.6 mi | |
| 2001 | Fireworks | 2,063 | 42.7 mi |
Top 2 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 Meadow Bridge. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
1 departments report to NFIRS for incidents in Meadow Bridge.
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.