In 2025, fire departments serving Vienna responded to 86 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $500K 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 77% of all calls.
Apr peaks. Sep dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
471 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2024. $1.1M cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 76 | — | |
| 2022 | 98 | +28.9% | |
| 2023 | 96 | -2.0% | |
| 2024 | 115 | +19.8% | |
| 2025 | 86 | -25.2% |
For the 20 building fires Vienna departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 54 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 | 13 | 24.1% | |
| 2 | Highway, parking lot, street: on or near | 7 | 13.0% | |
| 3 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 6 | 11.1% | |
| 4 | Bedroom - < 5 persons; included are jail or prison | 4 | 7.4% | |
| 5 | Laundry area, wash house (laundry) | 4 | 7.4% | |
| 6 | Wall assembly | 3 | 5.6% | |
| 7 | Courtyard, patio, porch, terrace | 3 | 5.6% | |
| 8 | Cooking area, kitchen | 2 | 3.7% | |
| 9 | Bathroom, checkroom, lavatory, locker room | 2 | 3.7% | |
| 10 | Vehicle storage area; garage, carport | 2 | 3.7% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 8 | 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 Vienna mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Arcing | 14 | 25.9% | |
| 2 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 8 | 14.8% | |
| 3 | Undetermined | 7 | 13.0% | |
| 4 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 4 | 7.4% | |
| 5 | Cigarette | 4 | 7.4% | |
| 6 | Heat from direct flame, convection currents | 4 | 7.4% | |
| 7 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 3 | 5.6% | |
| 8 | Hot ember or ash | 2 | 3.7% | |
| 9 | Heat from other open flame or smoking materials | 2 | 3.7% | |
| 10 | Heat source: other | 1 | 1.9% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 5 | 9.3% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Vienna departments in 2025. These 8 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $500,000 | Building fires | Major | Investigated |
| 2 | $5,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $2,250 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 4 | $2,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 5 | $1,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 6 | $900 | Fire, other | Significant | Investigated |
| 7 | $800 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 8 | $500 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Vienna sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 1,911 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2012 | Equipment and vehicle use | 147 | 34.3 mi | |
| 2015 | Power generation/transmission/distribution | 131 | 44.2 mi | |
| 2013 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 130 | 31.0 mi | |
| 1995 | Equipment and vehicle use | 125 | 21.7 mi | |
| 2010 | Debris and open burning | 120 | 42.0 mi | |
| 2018 | Arson/incendiarism | 109 | 35.3 mi | |
| 2019 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 100 | 44.8 mi | |
| 1995 | Debris and open burning | 100 | 35.7 mi | |
| 1999 | Recreation and ceremony | 83 | 38.3 mi | |
| 2014 | Equipment and vehicle use | 70 | 17.5 mi | |
| 1996 | Arson/incendiarism | 60 | 15.1 mi | |
| 2020 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 60 | 26.5 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 Vienna. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
1 departments report to NFIRS for incidents in Vienna.
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.