In 2025, fire departments serving Timberville responded to 16 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $10K building blaze. Here's the full picture.
Power line down lead by count. Building fires lead by dollars. Together the top five categories make up about 87% of all calls.
Oct peaks. Feb dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
120 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2022. $308K cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 20 | — | |
| 2022 | 32 | +60.0% | |
| 2023 | 22 | -31.2% | |
| 2024 | 30 | +36.4% | |
| 2025 | 16 | -46.7% |
For the 4 building fires Timberville departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 33 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 | 39.4% | |
| 2 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 4 | 12.1% | |
| 3 | Cooking area, kitchen | 2 | 6.1% | |
| 4 | Storage: supplies or tools; dead storage | 2 | 6.1% | |
| 5 | Exterior balcony, unenclosed porch | 2 | 6.1% | |
| 6 | Vehicle area, other | 2 | 6.1% | |
| 7 | Operator/passenger area of transportation equip. | 2 | 6.1% | |
| 8 | Exterior stairway, ramp, or fire escape | 1 | 3.0% | |
| 9 | Bathroom, checkroom, lavatory, locker room | 1 | 3.0% | |
| 10 | Storage area, other | 1 | 3.0% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 3 | 9.1% |
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 Timberville mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 17 | 51.5% | |
| 2 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 3 | 9.1% | |
| 3 | Hot ember or ash | 3 | 9.1% | |
| 4 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 2 | 6.1% | |
| 5 | Arcing | 2 | 6.1% | |
| 6 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 1 | 3.0% | |
| 7 | Heat from other open flame or smoking materials | 1 | 3.0% | |
| 8 | Cigarette | 1 | 3.0% | |
| 9 | Match | 1 | 3.0% | |
| 10 | Cigarette lighter | 1 | 3.0% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 1 | 3.0% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Timberville departments in 2025. These 2 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $10,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 2 | $2,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Timberville sits below the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 71,941 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 | 25.1 mi | |
| 2016 | Recreation and ceremony | 10,326 | 23.1 mi | |
| 2000 | Arson/incendiarism | 6,131 | 25.7 mi | |
| 2002 | Arson/incendiarism | 4,200 | 14.7 mi | |
| 2012 | Arson/incendiarism | 3,717 | 10.7 mi | |
| 2000 | Natural | 2,743 | 21.1 mi | |
| 2011 | Power generation/transmission/distribution | 2,564 | 16.8 mi | |
| 1999 | Debris and open burning | 2,206 | 30.9 mi | |
| 2012 | Natural | 2,138 | 22.5 mi | |
| 2011 | Other causes | 1,989 | 33.4 mi | |
| 2006 | Arson/incendiarism | 1,935 | 12.3 mi | |
| 1998 | Arson/incendiarism | 1,800 | 47.9 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 Timberville. 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.