In 2025, fire departments serving War responded to 16 fire and hazmat incidents . Here's the full picture.
Fires in structures other than in a building lead by count. Building fires lead by dollars. Together the top five categories make up about 100% of all calls.
Jan peaks. May dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
71 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2023. $1K cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 9 | — | |
| 2022 | 15 | +66.7% | |
| 2023 | 18 | +20.0% | |
| 2024 | 13 | -27.8% | |
| 2025 | 16 | +23.1% |
For the 4 building fires War departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 17 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 | 15 | 88.2% | |
| 2 | Operator/passenger area of transportation equip. | 1 | 5.9% | |
| 3 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 1 | 5.9% |
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 War mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 16 | 94.1% | |
| 2 | Heat, spark from friction | 1 | 5.9% |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. War sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 72,879 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2001 | Arson/incendiarism | 5,832 | 2.7 mi | |
| 2001 | Arson/incendiarism | 4,850 | 5.2 mi | |
| 1994 | Fireworks | 4,552 | 32.6 mi | |
| 1999 | Arson/incendiarism | 3,484 | 37.6 mi | |
| 1999 | Arson/incendiarism | 3,475 | 32.4 mi | |
| 1999 | Fireworks | 3,358 | 47.4 mi | |
| 1999 | Arson/incendiarism | 3,200 | 46.1 mi | |
| 2001 | Fireworks | 3,186 | 27.9 mi | |
| 1999 | Fireworks | 3,171 | 45.1 mi | |
| 1999 | Arson/incendiarism | 3,100 | 49.7 mi | |
| 1999 | Arson/incendiarism | 3,082 | 49.4 mi | |
| 2000 | Arson/incendiarism | 2,859 | 29.7 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 West Virginia cities with population within ±25% of War. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
1 departments report to NFIRS for incidents in War.
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.