In 2025, fire departments serving Rowlesburg responded to 27 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $500 building blaze. Here's the full picture.
Hazardous condition, other lead by count. Building fires lead by dollars. Together the top five categories make up about 85% of all calls.
Jan peaks. Jul dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
153 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2021. $81K cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 35 | — | |
| 2022 | 26 | -25.7% | |
| 2023 | 30 | +15.4% | |
| 2024 | 35 | +16.7% | |
| 2025 | 27 | -22.9% |
For the 2 building fires Rowlesburg departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 14 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 | 6 | 42.9% | |
| 2 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 2 | 14.3% | |
| 3 | Outside area, other | 2 | 14.3% | |
| 4 | Cooking area, kitchen | 1 | 7.1% | |
| 5 | Equipment or service area, other | 1 | 7.1% | |
| 6 | Railroad right of way: on or near | 1 | 7.1% | |
| 7 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 1 | 7.1% |
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 Rowlesburg mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 7 | 50.0% | |
| 2 | Arcing | 2 | 14.3% | |
| 3 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 1 | 7.1% | |
| 4 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 1 | 7.1% | |
| 5 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 1 | 7.1% | |
| 6 | Hot ember or ash | 1 | 7.1% | |
| 7 | Heat from other open flame or smoking materials | 1 | 7.1% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Rowlesburg departments in 2025. These 1 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $500 | Fire in mobile prop. used as a fixed struc., other | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Rowlesburg sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 11,038 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | Natural | 2,743 | 48.2 mi | |
| 2001 | Equipment and vehicle use | 1,800 | 34.2 mi | |
| 2013 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 1,611 | 39.7 mi | |
| 2019 | Power generation/transmission/distribution | 1,289 | 41.5 mi | |
| 1994 | Arson/incendiarism | 546 | 45.7 mi | |
| 2001 | Smoking | 467 | 42.9 mi | |
| 2018 | Arson/incendiarism | 428 | 37.1 mi | |
| 2016 | Smoking | 394 | 26.7 mi | |
| 2017 | Recreation and ceremony | 197 | 36.0 mi | |
| 2009 | Railroad operations and maintenance | 150 | 30.6 mi | |
| 2015 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 150 | 23.4 mi | |
| 2009 | Railroad operations and maintenance | 125 | 30.2 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 Rowlesburg. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
1 departments report to NFIRS for incidents in Rowlesburg.
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.