In 2025, fire departments serving New Kent responded to 65 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $58K building blaze. Here's the full picture.
Authorized controlled burning lead by count. Building fires lead by dollars. Together the top five categories make up about 55% of all calls.
Mar peaks. Aug dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
331 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2022. $2.3M cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 48 | — | |
| 2022 | 79 | +64.6% | |
| 2023 | 70 | -11.4% | |
| 2024 | 69 | -1.4% | |
| 2025 | 65 | -5.8% |
For the 2 building fires New Kent departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 93 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 | 32 | 34.4% | |
| 2 | Undetermined | 23 | 24.7% | |
| 3 | Cooking area, kitchen | 10 | 10.8% | |
| 4 | Wildland, woods | 4 | 4.3% | |
| 5 | Exterior, exposed surface | 3 | 3.2% | |
| 6 | Outside area, other | 3 | 3.2% | |
| 7 | Laundry area, wash house (laundry) | 2 | 2.2% | |
| 8 | Storage area, other | 2 | 2.2% | |
| 9 | Vehicle area, other | 2 | 2.2% | |
| 10 | Highway, parking lot, street: on or near | 2 | 2.2% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 10 | 10.8% |
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 New Kent mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 45 | 48.4% | |
| 2 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 11 | 11.8% | |
| 3 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 8 | 8.6% | |
| 4 | Hot ember or ash | 6 | 6.5% | |
| 5 | Radiated heat from another fire | 6 | 6.5% | |
| 6 | Heat source: other | 4 | 4.3% | |
| 7 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 3 | 3.2% | |
| 8 | Arcing | 3 | 3.2% | |
| 9 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 3 | 3.2% | |
| 10 | Molten, hot material | 1 | 1.1% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 3 | 3.2% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by New Kent departments in 2025. These 8 fires alone account for 93% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $57,600 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 2 | $25,113 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $20,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 4 | $11,653 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 5 | $10,000 | Outside equipment fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 6 | $7,965 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 7 | $5,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 8 | $5,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. New Kent sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 7,798 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2008 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 2,850 | 46.0 mi | |
| 2011 | Debris and open burning | 478 | 21.2 mi | |
| 2011 | Power generation/transmission/distribution | 372 | 16.9 mi | |
| 2002 | Natural | 310 | 7.4 mi | |
| 2018 | Power generation/transmission/distribution | 302 | 34.0 mi | |
| 2011 | Power generation/transmission/distribution | 273 | 46.2 mi | |
| 2008 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 255 | 22.8 mi | |
| 1997 | Debris and open burning | 225 | 29.0 mi | |
| 2007 | Arson/incendiarism | 221 | 35.5 mi | |
| 2006 | Arson/incendiarism | 213 | 36.0 mi | |
| 2006 | Arson/incendiarism | 208 | 34.7 mi | |
| 2009 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 198 | 37.9 mi |
Top 6 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 New Kent. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
1 departments report to NFIRS for incidents in New Kent.
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.