In 2025, fire departments serving Stanley responded to 112 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $325K building blaze. Here's the full picture.
Authorized controlled burning lead by count. Building fires lead by dollars. Together the top five categories make up about 51% of all calls.
Mar peaks. Oct dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
586 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2023. $1.6M cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 111 | — | |
| 2022 | 121 | +9.0% | |
| 2023 | 140 | +15.7% | |
| 2024 | 102 | -27.1% | |
| 2025 | 112 | +9.8% |
For the 9 building fires Stanley departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 63 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 | 13 | 20.6% | |
| 2 | Wildland, woods | 10 | 15.9% | |
| 3 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 8 | 12.7% | |
| 4 | Bedroom - < 5 persons; included are jail or prison | 4 | 6.3% | |
| 5 | Attic: vacant, crawl space above top story, cupola | 3 | 4.8% | |
| 6 | Substructure area or space, crawl space | 2 | 3.2% | |
| 7 | Ceiling & floor assembly, crawl space b/t stories | 2 | 3.2% | |
| 8 | Wall assembly | 2 | 3.2% | |
| 9 | Wall surface: exterior | 2 | 3.2% | |
| 10 | Highway, parking lot, street: on or near | 2 | 3.2% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 15 | 23.8% |
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 Stanley mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 20 | 31.7% | |
| 2 | Heat from other open flame or smoking materials | 7 | 11.1% | |
| 3 | Arcing | 6 | 9.5% | |
| 4 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 5 | 7.9% | |
| 5 | Backfire from internal combustion engine | 5 | 7.9% | |
| 6 | Heat spread from another fire, other | 4 | 6.3% | |
| 7 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 3 | 4.8% | |
| 8 | Cigarette | 3 | 4.8% | |
| 9 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 2 | 3.2% | |
| 10 | Match | 2 | 3.2% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 6 | 9.5% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Stanley departments in 2025. These 8 fires alone account for 95% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $325,000 | Building fires | Major | Investigated |
| 2 | $150,000 | Fire, other | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $80,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 4 | $52,000 | Off-road vehicle or heavy equipment fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 5 | $37,000 | Road freight or transport vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 6 | $18,900 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 7 | $10,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 8 | $9,500 | Special outside fire, other | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Stanley sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 74,646 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | Recreation and ceremony | 16,021 | 10.8 mi | |
| 2016 | Recreation and ceremony | 10,326 | 19.7 mi | |
| 2000 | Arson/incendiarism | 6,131 | 10.6 mi | |
| 2008 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 4,505 | 48.1 mi | |
| 2002 | Arson/incendiarism | 4,200 | 5.2 mi | |
| 2012 | Arson/incendiarism | 3,717 | 9.4 mi | |
| 2000 | Natural | 2,743 | 34.6 mi | |
| 2011 | Power generation/transmission/distribution | 2,564 | 29.2 mi | |
| 1999 | Debris and open burning | 2,206 | 30.1 mi | |
| 2012 | Natural | 2,138 | 11.3 mi | |
| 2011 | Other causes | 1,989 | 23.0 mi | |
| 2006 | Arson/incendiarism | 1,935 | 7.4 mi |
Top 4 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 Stanley. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
1 departments report to NFIRS for incidents in Stanley.
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.