In 2025, fire departments serving Nitro responded to 108 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $200K 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 62% of all calls.
Aug peaks. Oct dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
617 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2024. $3.2M cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 102 | — | |
| 2022 | 142 | +39.2% | |
| 2023 | 110 | -22.5% | |
| 2024 | 155 | +40.9% | |
| 2025 | 108 | -30.3% |
For the 38 building fires Nitro departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 122 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 | 34 | 27.9% | |
| 2 | Cooking area, kitchen | 10 | 8.2% | |
| 3 | Other | 8 | 6.6% | |
| 4 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 7 | 5.7% | |
| 5 | Outside area, other | 7 | 5.7% | |
| 6 | Wildland, woods | 6 | 4.9% | |
| 7 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 5 | 4.1% | |
| 8 | Vehicle area, other | 3 | 2.5% | |
| 9 | Exterior, exposed surface | 3 | 2.5% | |
| 10 | Common room, den, family room, living room, lounge | 2 | 1.6% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 37 | 30.3% |
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 Nitro mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 87 | 71.3% | |
| 2 | Arcing | 10 | 8.2% | |
| 3 | Hot ember or ash | 4 | 3.3% | |
| 4 | Heat source: other | 3 | 2.5% | |
| 5 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 3 | 2.5% | |
| 6 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 3 | 2.5% | |
| 7 | Heat, spark from friction | 2 | 1.6% | |
| 8 | Cigarette | 2 | 1.6% | |
| 9 | Cigarette lighter | 2 | 1.6% | |
| 10 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 1 | 0.8% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 5 | 4.1% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Nitro departments in 2025. These 8 fires alone account for 99% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $200,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 2 | $200,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $190,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 4 | $75,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 5 | $40,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 6 | $25,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 7 | $10,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 8 | $6,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Nitro sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 59,509 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1999 | Fireworks | 4,637 | 33.0 mi | |
| 1999 | Fireworks | 3,706 | 40.9 mi | |
| 1999 | Arson/incendiarism | 3,484 | 43.6 mi | |
| 1999 | Fireworks | 3,358 | 40.1 mi | |
| 1999 | Arson/incendiarism | 3,328 | 19.3 mi | |
| 2001 | Fireworks | 3,186 | 49.0 mi | |
| 1999 | Fireworks | 3,171 | 33.1 mi | |
| 1999 | Arson/incendiarism | 3,082 | 27.6 mi | |
| 2001 | Arson/incendiarism | 2,250 | 26.8 mi | |
| 1994 | Arson/incendiarism | 2,233 | 47.3 mi | |
| 1999 | Arson/incendiarism | 2,090 | 34.6 mi | |
| 2001 | Fireworks | 2,063 | 33.7 mi |
Top 10 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 Nitro. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
1 departments report to NFIRS for incidents in Nitro.
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.