In 2025, fire departments serving South Charleston responded to 117 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $60K building blaze. Here's the full picture.
Vehicle accident, general cleanup lead by count. Building fires lead by dollars. Together the top five categories make up about 62% of all calls.
Jan peaks. Sep dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
770 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2024. $2.2M cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 126 | — | |
| 2022 | 169 | +34.1% | |
| 2023 | 156 | -7.7% | |
| 2024 | 202 | +29.5% | |
| 2025 | 117 | -42.1% |
For the 15 building fires South Charleston departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 190 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 | 54 | 28.4% | |
| 2 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 26 | 13.7% | |
| 3 | Outside area, other | 22 | 11.6% | |
| 4 | Cooking area, kitchen | 20 | 10.5% | |
| 5 | Highway, parking lot, street: on or near | 9 | 4.7% | |
| 6 | Vehicle area, other | 6 | 3.2% | |
| 7 | Other | 4 | 2.1% | |
| 8 | Common room, den, family room, living room, lounge | 4 | 2.1% | |
| 9 | Duct: hvac, cable, exhaust, heating, or AC | 4 | 2.1% | |
| 10 | Wall surface: exterior | 4 | 2.1% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 37 | 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 South Charleston mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 118 | 62.1% | |
| 2 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 11 | 5.8% | |
| 3 | Arcing | 11 | 5.8% | |
| 4 | Heat source: other | 8 | 4.2% | |
| 5 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 7 | 3.7% | |
| 6 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 6 | 3.2% | |
| 7 | Cigarette | 5 | 2.6% | |
| 8 | Hot ember or ash | 4 | 2.1% | |
| 9 | Flame/torch used for lighting | 3 | 1.6% | |
| 10 | Chemical reaction | 3 | 1.6% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 14 | 7.4% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by South Charleston departments in 2025. These 8 fires alone account for 92% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $60,000 | Fire, other | Significant | Investigated |
| 2 | $60,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $60,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 4 | $50,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 5 | $40,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 6 | $30,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 7 | $25,000 | Fire, other | Significant | Investigated |
| 8 | $12,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. South Charleston sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 60,744 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1999 | Fireworks | 4,637 | 25.7 mi | |
| 1999 | Fireworks | 3,706 | 33.9 mi | |
| 1999 | Arson/incendiarism | 3,484 | 37.2 mi | |
| 1999 | Fireworks | 3,358 | 33.0 mi | |
| 1999 | Arson/incendiarism | 3,328 | 14.9 mi | |
| 2001 | Fireworks | 3,186 | 44.0 mi | |
| 1999 | Fireworks | 3,171 | 27.1 mi | |
| 1999 | Arson/incendiarism | 3,082 | 23.5 mi | |
| 2000 | Arson/incendiarism | 2,859 | 49.1 mi | |
| 2001 | Arson/incendiarism | 2,250 | 23.9 mi | |
| 1994 | Arson/incendiarism | 2,233 | 43.7 mi | |
| 1999 | Arson/incendiarism | 2,090 | 34.5 mi |
Top 9 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 South Charleston. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
3 departments report to NFIRS for incidents in South Charleston.
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.