In 2025, fire departments serving Pembroke responded to 15 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $8K building blaze. Here's the full picture.
Trash or rubbish fire, contained lead by count. Building fires lead by dollars. Together the top five categories make up about 67% of all calls.
Mar peaks. Apr dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
86 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2022. $327K cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 13 | — | |
| 2022 | 22 | +69.2% | |
| 2023 | 20 | -9.1% | |
| 2024 | 16 | -20.0% | |
| 2025 | 15 | -6.2% |
For the 0 building fires Pembroke departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 31 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 | 4 | 12.9% | |
| 2 | Undetermined | 4 | 12.9% | |
| 3 | Common room, den, family room, living room, lounge | 3 | 9.7% | |
| 4 | Wildland, woods | 3 | 9.7% | |
| 5 | Outside area, other | 2 | 6.5% | |
| 6 | Highway, parking lot, street: on or near | 2 | 6.5% | |
| 7 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 2 | 6.5% | |
| 8 | Bedroom - < 5 persons; included are jail or prison | 1 | 3.2% | |
| 9 | Bedroom - 5+ persons; including barrack/dormitory | 1 | 3.2% | |
| 10 | Bathroom, checkroom, lavatory, locker room | 1 | 3.2% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 8 | 25.8% |
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 Pembroke mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 6 | 19.4% | |
| 2 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 5 | 16.1% | |
| 3 | Hot ember or ash | 5 | 16.1% | |
| 4 | Arcing | 4 | 12.9% | |
| 5 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 3 | 9.7% | |
| 6 | Cigarette | 2 | 6.5% | |
| 7 | Conducted heat from another fire | 2 | 6.5% | |
| 8 | Heat source: other | 1 | 3.2% | |
| 9 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 1 | 3.2% | |
| 10 | Heat from other open flame or smoking materials | 1 | 3.2% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 1 | 3.2% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Pembroke departments in 2025. These 1 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $7,500 | Mobile property (vehicle) fire, other | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Pembroke sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 52,117 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2012 | Railroad operations and maintenance | 11,381 | 38.5 mi | |
| 2012 | Fireworks | 7,351 | 38.0 mi | |
| 2008 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 3,990 | 36.4 mi | |
| 2006 | Natural | 3,696 | 47.8 mi | |
| 2000 | Arson/incendiarism | 2,859 | 48.7 mi | |
| 2008 | Power generation/transmission/distribution | 2,738 | 29.5 mi | |
| 1995 | Smoking | 2,151 | 26.1 mi | |
| 1995 | Arson/incendiarism | 1,678 | 37.7 mi | |
| 2008 | Equipment and vehicle use | 1,550 | 48.1 mi | |
| 2013 | Smoking | 1,509 | 46.3 mi | |
| 1995 | Arson/incendiarism | 1,354 | 24.6 mi | |
| 1999 | Arson/incendiarism | 1,349 | 29.9 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 | 24136 | 86 |
Six Virginia cities with population within ±25% of Pembroke. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
1 departments report to NFIRS for incidents in Pembroke.
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.