In 2025, fire departments serving Vinton responded to 188 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $150K 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 68% of all calls.
Feb peaks. Sep dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
630 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2025. $1.3M cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 85 | — | |
| 2022 | 129 | +51.8% | |
| 2023 | 113 | -12.4% | |
| 2024 | 115 | +1.8% | |
| 2025 | 188 | +63.5% |
For the 35 building fires Vinton departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 100 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 | 31 | 31.0% | |
| 2 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 15 | 15.0% | |
| 3 | Vehicle storage area; garage, carport | 5 | 5.0% | |
| 4 | Cooking area, kitchen | 4 | 4.0% | |
| 5 | Storage area, other | 4 | 4.0% | |
| 6 | Vehicle area, other | 4 | 4.0% | |
| 7 | Outside area, other | 4 | 4.0% | |
| 8 | Other | 3 | 3.0% | |
| 9 | Common room, den, family room, living room, lounge | 3 | 3.0% | |
| 10 | Cargo/trunk area - all vehicles | 3 | 3.0% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 24 | 24.0% |
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 Vinton mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 54 | 54.0% | |
| 2 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 11 | 11.0% | |
| 3 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 6 | 6.0% | |
| 4 | Arcing | 6 | 6.0% | |
| 5 | Heat source: other | 4 | 4.0% | |
| 6 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 4 | 4.0% | |
| 7 | Hot ember or ash | 2 | 2.0% | |
| 8 | Heat from direct flame, convection currents | 2 | 2.0% | |
| 9 | Heat, spark from friction | 1 | 1.0% | |
| 10 | Incendiary device | 1 | 1.0% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 9 | 9.0% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Vinton departments in 2025. These 8 fires alone account for 97% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $150,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 2 | $80,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $75,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 4 | $30,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 5 | $30,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 6 | $15,000 | Mobile property (vehicle) fire, other | Significant | Investigated |
| 7 | $10,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 8 | $10,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Vinton sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 73,429 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2012 | Arson/incendiarism | 15,454 | 43.6 mi | |
| 2012 | Railroad operations and maintenance | 11,381 | 37.5 mi | |
| 2012 | Fireworks | 7,351 | 26.3 mi | |
| 2008 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 3,990 | 7.5 mi | |
| 2006 | Natural | 3,696 | 42.0 mi | |
| 2003 | Debris and open burning | 3,200 | 49.7 mi | |
| 2002 | Natural | 2,935 | 31.0 mi | |
| 2006 | Arson/incendiarism | 2,871 | 37.1 mi | |
| 2008 | Power generation/transmission/distribution | 2,738 | 16.7 mi | |
| 1995 | Smoking | 2,151 | 17.4 mi | |
| 1995 | Arson/incendiarism | 1,678 | 25.4 mi | |
| 2015 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 1,676 | 27.8 mi |
Top 4 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 Vinton. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
1 departments report to NFIRS for incidents in Vinton.
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.