In 2025, fire departments serving Onley responded to 48 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $10K 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 65% of all calls.
Jul peaks. Sep dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
215 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2025. $435K cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 45 | — | |
| 2022 | 36 | -20.0% | |
| 2023 | 46 | +27.8% | |
| 2024 | 40 | -13.0% | |
| 2025 | 48 | +20.0% |
For the 14 building fires Onley departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 25 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 | 6 | 24.0% | |
| 2 | Heating room or area, water heater area | 3 | 12.0% | |
| 3 | Undetermined | 3 | 12.0% | |
| 4 | Function area, other | 2 | 8.0% | |
| 5 | Cooking area, kitchen | 2 | 8.0% | |
| 6 | Vehicle storage area; garage, carport | 2 | 8.0% | |
| 7 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 2 | 8.0% | |
| 8 | Storage area, other | 1 | 4.0% | |
| 9 | Chute/container - trash, rubbish, waste | 1 | 4.0% | |
| 10 | Cargo/trunk area - all vehicles | 1 | 4.0% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 2 | 8.0% |
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 Onley mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 14 | 56.0% | |
| 2 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 2 | 8.0% | |
| 3 | Arcing | 2 | 8.0% | |
| 4 | Heat from direct flame, convection currents | 2 | 8.0% | |
| 5 | Heat source: other | 1 | 4.0% | |
| 6 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 1 | 4.0% | |
| 7 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 1 | 4.0% | |
| 8 | Heat, spark from friction | 1 | 4.0% | |
| 9 | Multiple heat sources including multiple ignitions | 1 | 4.0% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Onley departments in 2025. These 4 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $10,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 2 | $10,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $5,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 4 | $1 | Fuel burner/boiler malfunction, fire confined | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Onley sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 28,272 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2011 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 2,910 | 48.1 mi | |
| 2009 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 2,124 | 49.3 mi | |
| 2010 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 2,066 | 49.5 mi | |
| 2005 | Arson/incendiarism | 1,800 | 47.3 mi | |
| 2001 | Arson/incendiarism | 1,756 | 47.5 mi | |
| 2011 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 1,700 | 49.0 mi | |
| 2001 | Arson/incendiarism | 1,580 | 46.8 mi | |
| 2011 | Arson/incendiarism | 1,367 | 50.0 mi | |
| 2014 | Arson/incendiarism | 1,348 | 15.7 mi | |
| 2009 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 1,238 | 48.7 mi | |
| 2004 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 1,000 | 47.7 mi | |
| 2020 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 930 | 44.1 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 Onley. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
1 departments report to NFIRS for incidents in Onley.
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.