In 2025, fire departments serving Rural Retreat responded to 62 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $250K 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 65% of all calls.
Feb peaks. Aug dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
253 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2025. $2.2M cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 35 | — | |
| 2022 | 49 | +40.0% | |
| 2023 | 54 | +10.2% | |
| 2024 | 53 | -1.9% | |
| 2025 | 62 | +17.0% |
For the 15 building fires Rural Retreat departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 81 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 | 15 | 18.5% | |
| 2 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 15 | 18.5% | |
| 3 | Highway, parking lot, street: on or near | 10 | 12.3% | |
| 4 | Undetermined | 4 | 4.9% | |
| 5 | Cooking area, kitchen | 3 | 3.7% | |
| 6 | Equipment or service area, other | 3 | 3.7% | |
| 7 | Operator/passenger area of transportation equip. | 3 | 3.7% | |
| 8 | Wildland, woods | 3 | 3.7% | |
| 9 | Bedroom - < 5 persons; included are jail or prison | 2 | 2.5% | |
| 10 | Storage area, other | 2 | 2.5% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 21 | 25.9% |
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 Rural Retreat mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 20 | 24.7% | |
| 2 | Hot ember or ash | 12 | 14.8% | |
| 3 | Undetermined | 9 | 11.1% | |
| 4 | Cigarette | 8 | 9.9% | |
| 5 | Cigarette lighter | 8 | 9.9% | |
| 6 | Arcing | 7 | 8.6% | |
| 7 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 4 | 4.9% | |
| 8 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 3 | 3.7% | |
| 9 | Heat source: other | 2 | 2.5% | |
| 10 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 1 | 1.2% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 7 | 8.6% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Rural Retreat departments in 2025. These 8 fires alone account for 96% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $250,000 | Building fires | Major | Investigated |
| 2 | $125,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $100,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 4 | $80,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 5 | $20,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 6 | $20,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 7 | $20,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 8 | $20,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Rural Retreat sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 32,087 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2001 | Arson/incendiarism | 5,832 | 37.7 mi | |
| 2001 | Arson/incendiarism | 4,850 | 38.9 mi | |
| 2000 | Arson/incendiarism | 1,531 | 47.3 mi | |
| 2013 | Smoking | 1,509 | 9.2 mi | |
| 1995 | Arson/incendiarism | 1,485 | 39.9 mi | |
| 1995 | Debris and open burning | 1,151 | 45.7 mi | |
| 2001 | Fireworks | 1,098 | 38.7 mi | |
| 2001 | Arson/incendiarism | 1,094 | 33.9 mi | |
| 2000 | Arson/incendiarism | 1,019 | 44.5 mi | |
| 2020 | Power generation/transmission/distribution | 1,000 | 47.4 mi | |
| 2014 | Power generation/transmission/distribution | 992 | 24.8 mi | |
| 2016 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 882 | 49.6 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 Virginia cities with population within ±25% of Rural Retreat. 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.