In 2025, fire departments serving Strasburg responded to 148 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $100K 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 59% of all calls.
Feb peaks. Nov dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
502 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2025. $1.4M cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 99 | — | |
| 2022 | 70 | -29.3% | |
| 2023 | 70 | +0.0% | |
| 2024 | 115 | +64.3% | |
| 2025 | 148 | +28.7% |
For the 35 building fires Strasburg departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 128 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 | 56 | 43.8% | |
| 2 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 18 | 14.1% | |
| 3 | Cooking area, kitchen | 7 | 5.5% | |
| 4 | Equipment or service area, other | 6 | 4.7% | |
| 5 | Vehicle area, other | 5 | 3.9% | |
| 6 | Cargo/trunk area - all vehicles | 5 | 3.9% | |
| 7 | Other | 4 | 3.1% | |
| 8 | Laundry area, wash house (laundry) | 3 | 2.3% | |
| 9 | Outside area, other | 3 | 2.3% | |
| 10 | Common room, den, family room, living room, lounge | 2 | 1.6% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 19 | 14.8% |
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 Strasburg mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 75 | 58.6% | |
| 2 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 14 | 10.9% | |
| 3 | Heat source: other | 11 | 8.6% | |
| 4 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 8 | 6.2% | |
| 5 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 6 | 4.7% | |
| 6 | Arcing | 6 | 4.7% | |
| 7 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 2 | 1.6% | |
| 8 | Heat, spark from friction | 1 | 0.8% | |
| 9 | Hot ember or ash | 1 | 0.8% | |
| 10 | Heat from other open flame or smoking materials | 1 | 0.8% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 3 | 2.3% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Strasburg departments in 2025. These 8 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $100,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 2 | $10,000 | Road freight or transport vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $10,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 4 | $4,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 5 | $2,000 | Cooking fire, confined to container | Significant | Investigated |
| 6 | $1,000 | Cooking fire, confined to container | Significant | Investigated |
| 7 | $1 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 8 | $1 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Strasburg sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 64,694 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 | 26.6 mi | |
| 2016 | Recreation and ceremony | 10,326 | 49.7 mi | |
| 2000 | Arson/incendiarism | 6,131 | 31.5 mi | |
| 2002 | Arson/incendiarism | 4,200 | 35.1 mi | |
| 2012 | Arson/incendiarism | 3,717 | 37.3 mi | |
| 2000 | Natural | 2,743 | 36.9 mi | |
| 2012 | Natural | 2,138 | 20.4 mi | |
| 2011 | Other causes | 1,989 | 15.6 mi | |
| 2006 | Arson/incendiarism | 1,935 | 24.5 mi | |
| 2001 | Equipment and vehicle use | 1,800 | 47.7 mi | |
| 1999 | Arson/incendiarism | 1,579 | 36.9 mi | |
| 2012 | Natural | 1,200 | 8.1 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 Strasburg. 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.