In 2025, fire departments serving Valley Grove responded to 44 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 66% of all calls.
May peaks. Dec dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
348 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2024. $94K cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 49 | — | |
| 2022 | 82 | +67.3% | |
| 2023 | 84 | +2.4% | |
| 2024 | 89 | +6.0% | |
| 2025 | 44 | -50.6% |
For the 3 building fires Valley Grove departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 85 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 | 24 | 28.2% | |
| 2 | Outside area, other | 12 | 14.1% | |
| 3 | Cooking area, kitchen | 11 | 12.9% | |
| 4 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 8 | 9.4% | |
| 5 | Other | 7 | 8.2% | |
| 6 | Vehicle area, other | 5 | 5.9% | |
| 7 | Service facilities, other | 3 | 3.5% | |
| 8 | Structural area, other | 3 | 3.5% | |
| 9 | Wildland, woods | 3 | 3.5% | |
| 10 | Equipment or service area, other | 2 | 2.4% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 7 | 8.2% |
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 Valley Grove mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 41 | 48.2% | |
| 2 | Arcing | 10 | 11.8% | |
| 3 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 7 | 8.2% | |
| 4 | Hot ember or ash | 5 | 5.9% | |
| 5 | Heat source: other | 4 | 4.7% | |
| 6 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 4 | 4.7% | |
| 7 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 3 | 3.5% | |
| 8 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 3 | 3.5% | |
| 9 | Cigarette lighter | 3 | 3.5% | |
| 10 | Heat from direct flame, convection currents | 2 | 2.4% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 3 | 3.5% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Valley Grove departments in 2025. These 1 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $10,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Valley Grove sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 1,272 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2014 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 175 | 47.6 mi | |
| 2001 | Smoking | 102 | 46.9 mi | |
| 2019 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 100 | 32.6 mi | |
| 2003 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 78 | 49.2 mi | |
| 1999 | Power generation/transmission/distribution | 71 | 42.3 mi | |
| 1998 | Arson/incendiarism | 62 | 45.5 mi | |
| 2014 | Debris and open burning | 60 | 49.2 mi | |
| 2014 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 49 | 19.8 mi | |
| 1992 | Arson/incendiarism | 48 | 17.3 mi | |
| 1992 | Debris and open burning | 45 | 46.5 mi | |
| 2014 | Debris and open burning | 40 | 27.2 mi | |
| 2009 | Equipment and vehicle use | 40 | 28.8 mi |
Top 5 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 Valley Grove. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
1 departments report to NFIRS for incidents in Valley Grove.
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.