In 2025, fire departments serving Ranson responded to 83 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $50K 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 57% of all calls.
Aug peaks. Feb dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
323 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2025. $1.9M cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 39 | — | |
| 2022 | 56 | +43.6% | |
| 2023 | 82 | +46.4% | |
| 2024 | 63 | -23.2% | |
| 2025 | 83 | +31.7% |
For the 16 building fires Ranson departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 87 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 | 23 | 26.4% | |
| 2 | Cooking area, kitchen | 12 | 13.8% | |
| 3 | Outside area, other | 11 | 12.6% | |
| 4 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 7 | 8.0% | |
| 5 | Other | 4 | 4.6% | |
| 6 | Railroad right of way: on or near | 4 | 4.6% | |
| 7 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 4 | 4.6% | |
| 8 | Courtyard, patio, porch, terrace | 3 | 3.4% | |
| 9 | Laundry area, wash house (laundry) | 2 | 2.3% | |
| 10 | Attic: vacant, crawl space above top story, cupola | 2 | 2.3% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 15 | 17.2% |
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 Ranson mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 53 | 60.9% | |
| 2 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 7 | 8.0% | |
| 3 | Heat source: other | 4 | 4.6% | |
| 4 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 3 | 3.4% | |
| 5 | Arcing | 3 | 3.4% | |
| 6 | Heat, spark from friction | 3 | 3.4% | |
| 7 | Hot ember or ash | 3 | 3.4% | |
| 8 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 2 | 2.3% | |
| 9 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 1 | 1.1% | |
| 10 | Molten, hot material | 1 | 1.1% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 7 | 8.0% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Ranson departments in 2025. These 3 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $50,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 2 | $10,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $200 | Fire, other | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Ranson sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 9,491 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 | 39.8 mi | |
| 2012 | Natural | 1,200 | 39.7 mi | |
| 2001 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 1,000 | 26.6 mi | |
| 2010 | Debris and open burning | 610 | 44.6 mi | |
| 2013 | Recreation and ceremony | 608 | 47.8 mi | |
| 2011 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 461 | 33.9 mi | |
| 1996 | Recreation and ceremony | 405 | 13.7 mi | |
| 1996 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 400 | 14.5 mi | |
| 1996 | Arson/incendiarism | 350 | 15.9 mi | |
| 1999 | Natural | 315 | 49.7 mi | |
| 2008 | Natural | 300 | 35.0 mi | |
| 2000 | Natural | 300 | 47.2 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 West Virginia cities with population within ±25% of Ranson. 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.