In 2025, fire departments serving Oakton responded to 45 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $45K 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 69% of all calls.
May peaks. Sep dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
233 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2024. $440K cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 58 | — | |
| 2022* | 26 | — | |
| 2023 | 43 | — | |
| 2024 | 61 | +41.9% | |
| 2025 | 45 | -26.2% |
* Well below Oakton's usual volume. That almost always means one or more departments didn't submit a full year to NFIRS, not that fires dropped, so no year-over-year change is shown for it.
For the 2 building fires Oakton departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 62 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 | Outside area, other | 14 | 22.6% | |
| 2 | Undetermined | 11 | 17.7% | |
| 3 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 10 | 16.1% | |
| 4 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 5 | 8.1% | |
| 5 | Cargo/trunk area - all vehicles | 4 | 6.5% | |
| 6 | Highway, parking lot, street: on or near | 4 | 6.5% | |
| 7 | Wall assembly | 2 | 3.2% | |
| 8 | Vehicle area, other | 2 | 3.2% | |
| 9 | Wildland, woods | 2 | 3.2% | |
| 10 | Other | 1 | 1.6% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 7 | 11.3% |
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 Oakton mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 21 | 33.9% | |
| 2 | Heat source: other | 6 | 9.7% | |
| 3 | Arcing | 5 | 8.1% | |
| 4 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 5 | 8.1% | |
| 5 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 4 | 6.5% | |
| 6 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 4 | 6.5% | |
| 7 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 2 | 3.2% | |
| 8 | Heat, spark from friction | 2 | 3.2% | |
| 9 | Match | 2 | 3.2% | |
| 10 | Flame/torch used for lighting | 2 | 3.2% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 9 | 14.5% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Oakton departments in 2025. These 2 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $45,102 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 2 | $32,834 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Oakton sits below the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 7,898 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2011 | Other causes | 1,989 | 48.4 mi | |
| 1999 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 640 | 24.2 mi | |
| 2011 | Recreation and ceremony | 500 | 32.4 mi | |
| 2011 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 461 | 17.0 mi | |
| 2011 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 431 | 20.9 mi | |
| 2003 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 408 | 48.7 mi | |
| 1996 | Recreation and ceremony | 405 | 33.3 mi | |
| 1996 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 400 | 33.3 mi | |
| 1996 | Arson/incendiarism | 350 | 34.1 mi | |
| 2011 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 344 | 39.6 mi | |
| 2006 | Arson/incendiarism | 318 | 20.9 mi | |
| 1999 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 250 | 22.0 mi |
Top 4 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 Oakton. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
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.