In 2025, fire departments serving Monongah responded to 12 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $500 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 92% of all calls.
Apr peaks. Jan dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
51 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2022. $612K cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 8 | — | |
| 2022 | 12 | +50.0% | |
| 2023 | 9 | -25.0% | |
| 2024 | 10 | +11.1% | |
| 2025 | 12 | +20.0% |
For the 0 building fires Monongah departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 8 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 | 3 | 37.5% | |
| 2 | Common room, den, family room, living room, lounge | 2 | 25.0% | |
| 3 | Storage area, other | 2 | 25.0% | |
| 4 | Other | 1 | 12.5% |
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 Monongah mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 6 | 75.0% | |
| 2 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 1 | 12.5% | |
| 3 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 1 | 12.5% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Monongah departments in 2025. These 1 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $500 | Outside storage fire | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Monongah sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 2,321 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | Smoking | 394 | 33.5 mi | |
| 2009 | Railroad operations and maintenance | 150 | 43.8 mi | |
| 2012 | Equipment and vehicle use | 147 | 36.8 mi | |
| 2009 | Railroad operations and maintenance | 125 | 44.0 mi | |
| 2010 | Equipment and vehicle use | 121 | 44.2 mi | |
| 2010 | Debris and open burning | 120 | 34.6 mi | |
| 2002 | Recreation and ceremony | 117 | 46.5 mi | |
| 2001 | Smoking | 102 | 18.6 mi | |
| 2010 | Natural | 100 | 46.5 mi | |
| 1995 | Debris and open burning | 100 | 49.8 mi | |
| 2008 | Equipment and vehicle use | 85 | 43.0 mi | |
| 1999 | Debris and open burning | 76 | 21.0 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 Monongah. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
1 departments report to NFIRS for incidents in Monongah.
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.