In 2025, fire departments serving Pulaski responded to 180 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $150K 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 51% of all calls.
Feb peaks. May dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
773 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2025. $1.5M cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 104 | — | |
| 2022 | 137 | +31.7% | |
| 2023 | 178 | +29.9% | |
| 2024 | 174 | -2.2% | |
| 2025 | 180 | +3.4% |
For the 15 building fires Pulaski departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 103 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 | 21 | 20.4% | |
| 2 | Other | 15 | 14.6% | |
| 3 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 12 | 11.7% | |
| 4 | Outside area, other | 10 | 9.7% | |
| 5 | Cooking area, kitchen | 6 | 5.8% | |
| 6 | Bedroom - < 5 persons; included are jail or prison | 4 | 3.9% | |
| 7 | Vehicle storage area; garage, carport | 4 | 3.9% | |
| 8 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 4 | 3.9% | |
| 9 | Function area, other | 3 | 2.9% | |
| 10 | Exterior balcony, unenclosed porch | 3 | 2.9% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 21 | 20.4% |
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 Pulaski mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 38 | 36.9% | |
| 2 | Heat source: other | 23 | 22.3% | |
| 3 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 8 | 7.8% | |
| 4 | Arcing | 8 | 7.8% | |
| 5 | Heat from other open flame or smoking materials | 7 | 6.8% | |
| 6 | Heat spread from another fire, other | 4 | 3.9% | |
| 7 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 3 | 2.9% | |
| 8 | Hot ember or ash | 3 | 2.9% | |
| 9 | Cigarette lighter | 3 | 2.9% | |
| 10 | Backfire from internal combustion engine | 2 | 1.9% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 4 | 3.9% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Pulaski departments in 2025. These 8 fires alone account for 94% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $150,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 2 | $50,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $10,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 4 | $10,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 5 | $5,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 6 | $5,000 | Fire, other | Significant | Investigated |
| 7 | $5,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 8 | $2,500 | Chimney or flue fire, confined to chimney or flue | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Pulaski sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
5 fire-related casualties recorded in NFIRS Module 11 across the 2021–2025 window. Age, gender, and severity are coarse-binned — no individual identification possible.
| Age | Count | |
|---|---|---|
| 0-9 | 0 | |
| 10-19 | 0 | |
| 20-29 | 0 | |
| 30-39 | 2 | |
| 40-49 | 0 | |
| 50-59 | 0 | |
| 60-69 | 1 | |
| 70-79 | 0 | |
| 80+ | 0 |
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 28,300 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2008 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 3,990 | 48.2 mi | |
| 2006 | Natural | 3,696 | 38.4 mi | |
| 2008 | Power generation/transmission/distribution | 2,738 | 44.1 mi | |
| 1995 | Smoking | 2,151 | 40.1 mi | |
| 2013 | Smoking | 1,509 | 28.3 mi | |
| 1995 | Arson/incendiarism | 1,354 | 42.0 mi | |
| 1999 | Arson/incendiarism | 1,349 | 41.4 mi | |
| 2002 | Arson/incendiarism | 1,146 | 43.7 mi | |
| 2007 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 1,050 | 36.0 mi | |
| 2006 | Power generation/transmission/distribution | 850 | 35.9 mi | |
| 2011 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 737 | 35.4 mi | |
| 2000 | Arson/incendiarism | 730 | 35.8 mi |
Top 3 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 Pulaski. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
2 departments report to NFIRS for incidents in Pulaski.
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.