In 2025, fire departments serving Wellsburg responded to 73 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $60K 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 70% of all calls.
Jul peaks. Oct dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
497 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2022. $858K cumulative property loss. 5 civilian deaths.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 102 | — | |
| 2022 | 132 | +29.4% | |
| 2023 | 103 | -22.0% | |
| 2024 | 87 | -15.5% | |
| 2025 | 73 | -16.1% |
For the 10 building fires Wellsburg departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 60 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 | 13 | 21.7% | |
| 2 | Other | 5 | 8.3% | |
| 3 | Attic: vacant, crawl space above top story, cupola | 5 | 8.3% | |
| 4 | Bedroom - < 5 persons; included are jail or prison | 4 | 6.7% | |
| 5 | Cooking area, kitchen | 4 | 6.7% | |
| 6 | Vehicle storage area; garage, carport | 4 | 6.7% | |
| 7 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 4 | 6.7% | |
| 8 | Exterior, exposed surface | 3 | 5.0% | |
| 9 | Laundry area, wash house (laundry) | 2 | 3.3% | |
| 10 | Wall surface: exterior | 2 | 3.3% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 14 | 23.3% |
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 Wellsburg mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 31 | 51.7% | |
| 2 | Heat source: other | 5 | 8.3% | |
| 3 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 3 | 5.0% | |
| 4 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 3 | 5.0% | |
| 5 | Arcing | 3 | 5.0% | |
| 6 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 2 | 3.3% | |
| 7 | Heat, spark from friction | 2 | 3.3% | |
| 8 | Hot ember or ash | 2 | 3.3% | |
| 9 | Heat spread from another fire, other | 2 | 3.3% | |
| 10 | Heat from direct flame, convection currents | 2 | 3.3% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 5 | 8.3% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Wellsburg departments in 2025. These 3 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $60,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 2 | $5,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $2,700 | Mobile property (vehicle) fire, other | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Wellsburg sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
10 fire-related casualties recorded in NFIRS Module 11 across the 2021–2025 window. Age, gender, and severity are coarse-binned — no individual identification possible.
| Age | Count | |
|---|---|---|
| 0-9 | 0 | |
| 10-19 | 1 | |
| 20-29 | 1 | |
| 30-39 | 2 | |
| 40-49 | 3 | |
| 50-59 | 1 | |
| 60-69 | 1 | |
| 70-79 | 1 | |
| 80+ | 0 |
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 1,095 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 | 37.3 mi | |
| 2013 | Debris and open burning | 106 | 46.6 mi | |
| 2019 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 100 | 38.4 mi | |
| 2003 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 78 | 36.0 mi | |
| 2014 | Debris and open burning | 60 | 39.0 mi | |
| 2014 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 49 | 29.4 mi | |
| 1992 | Arson/incendiarism | 48 | 5.6 mi | |
| 2014 | Debris and open burning | 40 | 34.4 mi | |
| 2009 | Equipment and vehicle use | 40 | 42.0 mi | |
| 2015 | Arson/incendiarism | 35 | 34.3 mi | |
| 2005 | Debris and open burning | 31 | 20.6 mi | |
| 2014 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 30 | 17.8 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 Wellsburg. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
4 departments report to NFIRS for incidents in Wellsburg.
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.