In 2025, fire departments serving Purcellville responded to 134 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $700K building blaze. Here's the full picture.
Gas leak (natural gas or LPG) lead by count. Building fires lead by dollars. Together the top five categories make up about 56% of all calls.
Feb peaks. May dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
590 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2025. $1.2M cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 101 | — | |
| 2022 | 116 | +14.9% | |
| 2023 | 120 | +3.4% | |
| 2024 | 119 | -0.8% | |
| 2025 | 134 | +12.6% |
For the 8 building fires Purcellville departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 120 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 | Wildland, woods | 19 | 15.8% | |
| 2 | Outside area, other | 15 | 12.5% | |
| 3 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 15 | 12.5% | |
| 4 | Undetermined | 14 | 11.7% | |
| 5 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 11 | 9.2% | |
| 6 | Other | 10 | 8.3% | |
| 7 | Bathroom, checkroom, lavatory, locker room | 5 | 4.2% | |
| 8 | Vehicle area, other | 4 | 3.3% | |
| 9 | Highway, parking lot, street: on or near | 4 | 3.3% | |
| 10 | Cooking area, kitchen | 3 | 2.5% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 20 | 16.7% |
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 Purcellville mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 33 | 27.5% | |
| 2 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 20 | 16.7% | |
| 3 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 11 | 9.2% | |
| 4 | Arcing | 10 | 8.3% | |
| 5 | Hot ember or ash | 10 | 8.3% | |
| 6 | Match | 10 | 8.3% | |
| 7 | Heat source: other | 7 | 5.8% | |
| 8 | Flying brand, ember, spark | 4 | 3.3% | |
| 9 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 3 | 2.5% | |
| 10 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 2 | 1.7% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 10 | 8.3% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Purcellville departments in 2025. These 1 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $700,000 | Building fires | Major | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Purcellville sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 28,871 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | Recreation and ceremony | 16,021 | 48.5 mi | |
| 2012 | Natural | 2,138 | 46.4 mi | |
| 2011 | Other causes | 1,989 | 34.6 mi | |
| 2012 | Natural | 1,200 | 37.9 mi | |
| 2001 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 1,000 | 41.2 mi | |
| 2019 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 745 | 48.5 mi | |
| 1999 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 640 | 44.5 mi | |
| 2013 | Recreation and ceremony | 608 | 45.5 mi | |
| 2011 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 461 | 23.0 mi | |
| 2011 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 431 | 48.8 mi | |
| 1996 | Recreation and ceremony | 405 | 6.9 mi | |
| 1996 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 400 | 7.6 mi |
Top 6 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 Purcellville. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
1 departments report to NFIRS for incidents in Purcellville.
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.