In 2025, fire departments serving Richmond responded to 52 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $10K building blaze. Here's the full picture.
Brush, or brush and grass mixture fire lead by count. Building fires lead by dollars. Together the top five categories make up about 50% of all calls.
Jan peaks. Feb dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
273 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2024. $40K cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 54 | — | |
| 2022 | 49 | -9.3% | |
| 2023 | 44 | -10.2% | |
| 2024 | 74 | +68.2% | |
| 2025 | 52 | -29.7% |
For the 5 building fires Richmond departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 6 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 | 2 | 33.3% | |
| 2 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 2 | 33.3% | |
| 3 | Vehicle area, other | 1 | 16.7% | |
| 4 | Wildland, woods | 1 | 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 Richmond mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Heat source: other | 1 | 16.7% | |
| 2 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 1 | 16.7% | |
| 3 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 1 | 16.7% | |
| 4 | Arcing | 1 | 16.7% | |
| 5 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 1 | 16.7% | |
| 6 | Undetermined | 1 | 16.7% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Richmond departments in 2025. These 2 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $10,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 2 | $5,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Richmond sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 2,272 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2018 | Recreation and ceremony | 547 | 45.9 mi | |
| 2001 | Railroad operations and maintenance | 330 | 42.0 mi | |
| 2015 | Recreation and ceremony | 121 | 49.2 mi | |
| 2012 | Debris and open burning | 120 | 45.4 mi | |
| 1999 | Recreation and ceremony | 92 | 43.1 mi | |
| 2001 | Arson/incendiarism | 82 | 40.3 mi | |
| 2001 | Natural | 80 | 24.2 mi | |
| 2001 | Railroad operations and maintenance | 77 | 42.0 mi | |
| 1994 | Smoking | 75 | 34.4 mi | |
| 2002 | Natural | 65 | 41.3 mi | |
| 2001 | Recreation and ceremony | 60 | 42.0 mi | |
| 2001 | Natural | 52 | 35.0 mi |
Top 7 ZIP codes by NFIRS incident count across 2021–2025. Each ZIP has its own fire profile — dive in for neighborhood-level context.
Six Vermont cities with population within ±25% of Richmond. 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.