In 2025, fire departments serving Wayne responded to 44 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $150K 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 57% of all calls.
Mar peaks. Sep dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
182 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2024. $3.3M cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 27 | — | |
| 2022 | 28 | +3.7% | |
| 2023 | 32 | +14.3% | |
| 2024 | 51 | +59.4% | |
| 2025 | 44 | -13.7% |
For the 9 building fires Wayne departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 57 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 | 41 | 71.9% | |
| 2 | Other | 3 | 5.3% | |
| 3 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 3 | 5.3% | |
| 4 | Cooking area, kitchen | 2 | 3.5% | |
| 5 | Dining room, cafeteria bar area, beverage service | 1 | 1.8% | |
| 6 | Bathroom, checkroom, lavatory, locker room | 1 | 1.8% | |
| 7 | Storage area, other | 1 | 1.8% | |
| 8 | Structural area, other | 1 | 1.8% | |
| 9 | Exterior balcony, unenclosed porch | 1 | 1.8% | |
| 10 | Attic: vacant, crawl space above top story, cupola | 1 | 1.8% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 2 | 3.5% |
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 Wayne mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 51 | 89.5% | |
| 2 | Heat source: other | 2 | 3.5% | |
| 3 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 2 | 3.5% | |
| 4 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 1 | 1.8% | |
| 5 | Cigarette lighter | 1 | 1.8% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Wayne departments in 2025. These 8 fires alone account for 80% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $150,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 2 | $125,000 | Fires in structures other than in a building | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $70,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 4 | $50,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 5 | $50,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 6 | $50,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 7 | $50,000 | Fire, other | Significant | Investigated |
| 8 | $30,000 | Fires in structures other than in a building | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Wayne sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 63,055 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2001 | Arson/incendiarism | 7,500 | 45.6 mi | |
| 1994 | Fireworks | 4,552 | 45.5 mi | |
| 1999 | Arson/incendiarism | 3,475 | 45.8 mi | |
| 1999 | Arson/incendiarism | 3,328 | 36.5 mi | |
| 1999 | Fireworks | 3,171 | 48.0 mi | |
| 1999 | Arson/incendiarism | 3,082 | 37.2 mi | |
| 1999 | Arson/incendiarism | 2,500 | 45.8 mi | |
| 2001 | Fireworks | 2,412 | 46.6 mi | |
| 2001 | Arson/incendiarism | 2,250 | 32.2 mi | |
| 1994 | Arson/incendiarism | 2,233 | 44.5 mi | |
| 2001 | Arson/incendiarism | 2,200 | 27.5 mi | |
| 1999 | Arson/incendiarism | 2,090 | 22.5 mi |
Top 6 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 Wayne. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
1 departments report to NFIRS for incidents in Wayne.
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.