In 2025, fire departments serving Richwood responded to 14 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $15K 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 100% of all calls.
Feb peaks. Mar dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
78 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2021. $3.2M cumulative property loss. 1 civilian deaths.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 18 | — | |
| 2022 | 18 | +0.0% | |
| 2023 | 14 | -22.2% | |
| 2024 | 14 | +0.0% | |
| 2025 | 14 | +0.0% |
For the 10 building fires Richwood departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 20 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 | 7 | 35.0% | |
| 2 | Entrance way, lobby | 2 | 10.0% | |
| 3 | Bedroom - < 5 persons; included are jail or prison | 2 | 10.0% | |
| 4 | Common room, den, family room, living room, lounge | 1 | 5.0% | |
| 5 | Function area, other | 1 | 5.0% | |
| 6 | Bathroom, checkroom, lavatory, locker room | 1 | 5.0% | |
| 7 | Laundry area, wash house (laundry) | 1 | 5.0% | |
| 8 | Processing/manufacturing area, workroom | 1 | 5.0% | |
| 9 | Closet | 1 | 5.0% | |
| 10 | Attic: vacant, crawl space above top story, cupola | 1 | 5.0% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 2 | 10.0% |
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 Richwood mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 16 | 80.0% | |
| 2 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 2 | 10.0% | |
| 3 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 1 | 5.0% | |
| 4 | Radiated heat from another fire | 1 | 5.0% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Richwood departments in 2025. These 5 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $15,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 2 | $5,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $5,000 | Fire in motor home, camper, recreational vehicle | Significant | Investigated |
| 4 | $1,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 5 | $500 | Fire in mobile home used as fixed residence | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Richwood sits below the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 51,664 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 | 36.9 mi | |
| 2012 | Fireworks | 7,351 | 48.4 mi | |
| 1999 | Fireworks | 4,637 | 43.1 mi | |
| 1999 | Fireworks | 3,706 | 32.7 mi | |
| 1999 | Fireworks | 3,358 | 49.6 mi | |
| 1999 | Arson/incendiarism | 2,033 | 38.9 mi | |
| 1999 | Arson/incendiarism | 1,800 | 30.3 mi | |
| 1995 | Arson/incendiarism | 1,678 | 49.3 mi | |
| 2001 | Fireworks | 1,383 | 48.6 mi | |
| 2010 | Fireworks | 1,244 | 49.9 mi | |
| 2007 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 1,070 | 44.3 mi | |
| 2007 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 1,050 | 47.6 mi |
Top 2 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 Richwood. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
1 departments report to NFIRS for incidents in Richwood.
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.