In 2025, fire departments serving Rustburg responded to 64 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $600K 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 66% of all calls.
Mar peaks. Sep dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
288 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2021. $2.4M cumulative property loss. 1 civilian deaths.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 72 | — | |
| 2022 | 54 | -25.0% | |
| 2023 | 45 | -16.7% | |
| 2024 | 53 | +17.8% | |
| 2025 | 64 | +20.8% |
For the 15 building fires Rustburg departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 77 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 | 19.5% | |
| 2 | Undetermined | 15 | 19.5% | |
| 3 | Other | 8 | 10.4% | |
| 4 | Outside area, other | 6 | 7.8% | |
| 5 | Cooking area, kitchen | 4 | 5.2% | |
| 6 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 4 | 5.2% | |
| 7 | Wildland, woods | 4 | 5.2% | |
| 8 | Wall surface: exterior | 3 | 3.9% | |
| 9 | Structural area, other | 2 | 2.6% | |
| 10 | Function area, other | 1 | 1.3% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 15 | 19.5% |
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 Rustburg mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 46 | 59.7% | |
| 2 | Heat source: other | 6 | 7.8% | |
| 3 | Arcing | 5 | 6.5% | |
| 4 | Hot ember or ash | 5 | 6.5% | |
| 5 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 4 | 5.2% | |
| 6 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 2 | 2.6% | |
| 7 | Heat, spark from friction | 2 | 2.6% | |
| 8 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 1 | 1.3% | |
| 9 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 1 | 1.3% | |
| 10 | Heat from other open flame or smoking materials | 1 | 1.3% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 4 | 5.2% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Rustburg departments in 2025. These 8 fires alone account for 97% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $600,000 | Building fires | Major | Investigated |
| 2 | $100,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $95,000 | Road freight or transport vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 4 | $75,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 5 | $20,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 6 | $15,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 7 | $15,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 8 | $10,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Rustburg sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 45,183 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | Debris and open burning | 11,229 | 31.5 mi | |
| 2008 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 3,990 | 48.7 mi | |
| 2017 | Arson/incendiarism | 3,058 | 49.9 mi | |
| 2002 | Natural | 2,935 | 30.1 mi | |
| 2006 | Arson/incendiarism | 2,871 | 28.0 mi | |
| 2018 | Equipment and vehicle use | 2,057 | 43.2 mi | |
| 2015 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 1,676 | 38.5 mi | |
| 2016 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 1,614 | 37.4 mi | |
| 2008 | Equipment and vehicle use | 1,550 | 38.1 mi | |
| 2008 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 1,300 | 34.6 mi | |
| 1999 | Equipment and vehicle use | 1,285 | 37.6 mi | |
| 1995 | Debris and open burning | 1,200 | 32.5 mi |
Top 5 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 Rustburg. 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.