In 2025, fire departments serving New Market responded to 43 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $5K 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 58% of all calls.
Jun peaks. Jan dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
216 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2024. $73K cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 40 | — | |
| 2022 | 40 | +0.0% | |
| 2023 | 35 | -12.5% | |
| 2024 | 58 | +65.7% | |
| 2025 | 43 | -25.9% |
For the 10 building fires New Market departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 60 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 | 32 | 53.3% | |
| 2 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 7 | 11.7% | |
| 3 | Cooking area, kitchen | 3 | 5.0% | |
| 4 | Cargo/trunk area - all vehicles | 3 | 5.0% | |
| 5 | Other | 2 | 3.3% | |
| 6 | Vehicle area, other | 2 | 3.3% | |
| 7 | Outside area, other | 2 | 3.3% | |
| 8 | Highway, parking lot, street: on or near | 2 | 3.3% | |
| 9 | Egress/exit, other | 1 | 1.7% | |
| 10 | Bedroom - < 5 persons; included are jail or prison | 1 | 1.7% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 5 | 8.3% |
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 New Market mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 37 | 61.7% | |
| 2 | Heat source: other | 6 | 10.0% | |
| 3 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 6 | 10.0% | |
| 4 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 3 | 5.0% | |
| 5 | Arcing | 3 | 5.0% | |
| 6 | Heat, spark from friction | 2 | 3.3% | |
| 7 | Molten, hot material | 1 | 1.7% | |
| 8 | Hot ember or ash | 1 | 1.7% | |
| 9 | Backfire from internal combustion engine | 1 | 1.7% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by New Market departments in 2025. These 4 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $5,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 2 | $3,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $300 | Cooking fire, confined to container | Significant | Investigated |
| 4 | $300 | Cooking fire, confined to container | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. New Market sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 70,827 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | Recreation and ceremony | 16,021 | 19.7 mi | |
| 2016 | Recreation and ceremony | 10,326 | 22.9 mi | |
| 2000 | Arson/incendiarism | 6,131 | 20.7 mi | |
| 2002 | Arson/incendiarism | 4,200 | 11.4 mi | |
| 2012 | Arson/incendiarism | 3,717 | 9.5 mi | |
| 2000 | Natural | 2,743 | 24.5 mi | |
| 2011 | Power generation/transmission/distribution | 2,564 | 22.0 mi | |
| 1999 | Debris and open burning | 2,206 | 32.0 mi | |
| 2012 | Natural | 2,138 | 16.9 mi | |
| 2011 | Other causes | 1,989 | 28.0 mi | |
| 2006 | Arson/incendiarism | 1,935 | 6.7 mi | |
| 2001 | Equipment and vehicle use | 1,800 | 38.7 mi |
Top 1 ZIP codes by NFIRS incident count across 2021–2025. Each ZIP has its own fire profile — dive in for neighborhood-level context.
| # | ZIP | 5-yr incidents | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 22844 | 216 |
Six Virginia cities with population within ±25% of New Market. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
1 departments report to NFIRS for incidents in New Market.
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.