In 2025, fire departments serving Stephens City responded to 83 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $420K building blaze. Here's the full picture.
Gas leak (natural gas or LPG) lead by count. Building fires lead by dollars. Together the top five categories make up about 57% of all calls.
Sep peaks. Jun dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
346 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2024. $3.7M cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 55 | — | |
| 2022 | 56 | +1.8% | |
| 2023 | 69 | +23.2% | |
| 2024 | 83 | +20.3% | |
| 2025 | 83 | +0.0% |
For the 9 building fires Stephens City 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 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 14 | 22.2% | |
| 2 | Exterior, exposed surface | 9 | 14.3% | |
| 3 | Vehicle storage area; garage, carport | 6 | 9.5% | |
| 4 | Undetermined | 6 | 9.5% | |
| 5 | Exterior balcony, unenclosed porch | 4 | 6.3% | |
| 6 | Outside area, other | 4 | 6.3% | |
| 7 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 4 | 6.3% | |
| 8 | Function area, other | 2 | 3.2% | |
| 9 | Bedroom - < 5 persons; included are jail or prison | 2 | 3.2% | |
| 10 | Wall surface: exterior | 2 | 3.2% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 10 | 15.9% |
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 Stephens City mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 20 | 31.7% | |
| 2 | Radiated heat from another fire | 8 | 12.7% | |
| 3 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 6 | 9.5% | |
| 4 | Heat, spark from friction | 5 | 7.9% | |
| 5 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 4 | 6.3% | |
| 6 | Arcing | 3 | 4.8% | |
| 7 | Cigarette | 3 | 4.8% | |
| 8 | Heat source: other | 2 | 3.2% | |
| 9 | Hot ember or ash | 2 | 3.2% | |
| 10 | Heat from other open flame or smoking materials | 2 | 3.2% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 8 | 12.7% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Stephens City departments in 2025. These 8 fires alone account for 92% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $420,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Major | Investigated |
| 2 | $420,000 | Building fires | Major | Investigated |
| 3 | $420,000 | Building fires | Major | Investigated |
| 4 | $420,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Major | Investigated |
| 5 | $420,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Major | Investigated |
| 6 | $155,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 7 | $100,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 8 | $100,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Stephens City sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
5 fire-related casualties recorded in NFIRS Module 11 across the 2021–2025 window. Age, gender, and severity are coarse-binned — no individual identification possible.
| Age | Count | |
|---|---|---|
| 0-9 | 1 | |
| 10-19 | 1 | |
| 20-29 | 0 | |
| 30-39 | 3 | |
| 40-49 | 0 | |
| 50-59 | 0 | |
| 60-69 | 0 | |
| 70-79 | 0 | |
| 80+ | 0 |
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 53,338 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 | 33.3 mi | |
| 2000 | Arson/incendiarism | 6,131 | 38.2 mi | |
| 2002 | Arson/incendiarism | 4,200 | 43.7 mi | |
| 2012 | Arson/incendiarism | 3,717 | 46.4 mi | |
| 2000 | Natural | 2,743 | 45.6 mi | |
| 2012 | Natural | 2,138 | 28.0 mi | |
| 2011 | Other causes | 1,989 | 19.6 mi | |
| 2006 | Arson/incendiarism | 1,935 | 33.6 mi | |
| 1999 | Arson/incendiarism | 1,579 | 44.7 mi | |
| 2012 | Natural | 1,200 | 15.7 mi | |
| 2000 | Recreation and ceremony | 1,113 | 33.6 mi | |
| 1995 | Equipment and vehicle use | 1,070 | 42.7 mi |
Top 3 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 Stephens City. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
1 departments report to NFIRS for incidents in Stephens City.
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.