In 2025, fire departments serving New Martinsville responded to 45 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 56% of all calls.
Apr peaks. Sep dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
268 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2023. $1.6M cumulative property loss. 1 civilian deaths.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 42 | — | |
| 2022 | 39 | -7.1% | |
| 2023 | 79 | +102.6% | |
| 2024 | 63 | -20.3% | |
| 2025 | 45 | -28.6% |
For the 5 building fires New Martinsville departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 59 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 | 10 | 16.9% | |
| 2 | Undetermined | 10 | 16.9% | |
| 3 | Other | 7 | 11.9% | |
| 4 | Cooking area, kitchen | 5 | 8.5% | |
| 5 | Outside area, other | 5 | 8.5% | |
| 6 | Bedroom - < 5 persons; included are jail or prison | 4 | 6.8% | |
| 7 | Vehicle storage area; garage, carport | 3 | 5.1% | |
| 8 | Maintenance shop or area, paint shop or area | 2 | 3.4% | |
| 9 | Vacant structural area | 2 | 3.4% | |
| 10 | Entrance way, lobby | 1 | 1.7% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 10 | 16.9% |
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 New Martinsville mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 35 | 59.3% | |
| 2 | Arcing | 11 | 18.6% | |
| 3 | Cigarette | 2 | 3.4% | |
| 4 | Match | 2 | 3.4% | |
| 5 | Heat from direct flame, convection currents | 2 | 3.4% | |
| 6 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 1 | 1.7% | |
| 7 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 1 | 1.7% | |
| 8 | Hot ember or ash | 1 | 1.7% | |
| 9 | Heat from undetermined smoking material | 1 | 1.7% | |
| 10 | Cigarette lighter | 1 | 1.7% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 2 | 3.4% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by New Martinsville departments in 2025. These 1 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $75,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. New Martinsville sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 1,768 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 | 19.5 mi | |
| 2013 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 130 | 48.7 mi | |
| 2010 | Debris and open burning | 120 | 32.5 mi | |
| 2018 | Arson/incendiarism | 109 | 45.5 mi | |
| 2001 | Smoking | 102 | 23.5 mi | |
| 2019 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 100 | 21.1 mi | |
| 1995 | Debris and open burning | 100 | 43.3 mi | |
| 1999 | Power generation/transmission/distribution | 71 | 19.1 mi | |
| 2014 | Equipment and vehicle use | 70 | 29.7 mi | |
| 1999 | Power generation/transmission/distribution | 70 | 36.6 mi | |
| 1998 | Arson/incendiarism | 62 | 34.8 mi | |
| 1996 | Arson/incendiarism | 60 | 35.7 mi |
Top 5 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 New Martinsville. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
2 departments report to NFIRS for incidents in New Martinsville.
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.