In 2025, fire departments serving Middlebourne responded to 38 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $75K building blaze. Here's the full picture.
Power line down lead by count. Building fires lead by dollars. Together the top five categories make up about 82% of all calls.
May peaks. Jan dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
268 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2023. $418K cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 38 | — | |
| 2022 | 51 | +34.2% | |
| 2023 | 81 | +58.8% | |
| 2024 | 60 | -25.9% | |
| 2025 | 38 | -36.7% |
For the 7 building fires Middlebourne departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 23 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 | 7 | 30.4% | |
| 2 | Wildland, woods | 4 | 17.4% | |
| 3 | Vehicle storage area; garage, carport | 3 | 13.0% | |
| 4 | Cooking area, kitchen | 2 | 8.7% | |
| 5 | Vehicle area, other | 2 | 8.7% | |
| 6 | Closet | 1 | 4.3% | |
| 7 | Wall surface: exterior | 1 | 4.3% | |
| 8 | Operator/passenger area of transportation equip. | 1 | 4.3% | |
| 9 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 1 | 4.3% | |
| 10 | Vacant structural area | 1 | 4.3% |
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 Middlebourne mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 11 | 47.8% | |
| 2 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 5 | 21.7% | |
| 3 | Heat source: other | 2 | 8.7% | |
| 4 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 2 | 8.7% | |
| 5 | Arcing | 1 | 4.3% | |
| 6 | Heat, spark from friction | 1 | 4.3% | |
| 7 | Heat from other open flame or smoking materials | 1 | 4.3% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Middlebourne departments in 2025. These 2 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $75,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 2 | $10,000 | Fire in mobile home used as fixed residence | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Middlebourne sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 2,001 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2012 | Equipment and vehicle use | 147 | 7.7 mi | |
| 2013 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 130 | 36.8 mi | |
| 1995 | Equipment and vehicle use | 125 | 42.1 mi | |
| 2010 | Equipment and vehicle use | 121 | 43.0 mi | |
| 2010 | Debris and open burning | 120 | 21.8 mi | |
| 2018 | Arson/incendiarism | 109 | 33.6 mi | |
| 2001 | Smoking | 102 | 19.4 mi | |
| 2010 | Natural | 100 | 45.5 mi | |
| 2019 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 100 | 29.6 mi | |
| 1995 | Debris and open burning | 100 | 31.4 mi | |
| 1999 | Power generation/transmission/distribution | 71 | 16.9 mi | |
| 2014 | Equipment and vehicle use | 70 | 19.8 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 West Virginia cities with population within ±25% of Middlebourne. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
1 departments report to NFIRS for incidents in Middlebourne.
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.