In 2025, fire departments serving West Hamlin responded to 20 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $130K 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 70% of all calls.
Apr peaks. Feb dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
121 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2021. $1.1M cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 33 | — | |
| 2022 | 25 | -24.2% | |
| 2023 | 21 | -16.0% | |
| 2024 | 22 | +4.8% | |
| 2025 | 20 | -9.1% |
For the 5 building fires West Hamlin departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 66 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 | 60 | 90.9% | |
| 2 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 2 | 3.0% | |
| 3 | Corridor, mall | 1 | 1.5% | |
| 4 | Exterior stairway, ramp, or fire escape | 1 | 1.5% | |
| 5 | Common room, den, family room, living room, lounge | 1 | 1.5% | |
| 6 | Outside area, other | 1 | 1.5% |
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 West Hamlin mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 61 | 92.4% | |
| 2 | Heat source: other | 2 | 3.0% | |
| 3 | Arcing | 2 | 3.0% | |
| 4 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 1 | 1.5% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by West Hamlin departments in 2025. These 4 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $130,000 | Fire in mobile home used as fixed residence | Significant | Investigated |
| 2 | $75,000 | Fire in mobile home used as fixed residence | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $50,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 4 | $5,000 | Fire in mobile home used as fixed residence | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. West Hamlin sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 63,624 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1999 | Fireworks | 4,637 | 48.3 mi | |
| 1994 | Fireworks | 4,552 | 45.6 mi | |
| 1999 | Arson/incendiarism | 3,484 | 48.7 mi | |
| 1999 | Arson/incendiarism | 3,475 | 46.0 mi | |
| 1999 | Arson/incendiarism | 3,328 | 24.6 mi | |
| 2001 | Fireworks | 3,186 | 47.0 mi | |
| 1999 | Fireworks | 3,171 | 37.9 mi | |
| 1999 | Arson/incendiarism | 3,082 | 27.7 mi | |
| 1999 | Arson/incendiarism | 2,500 | 46.9 mi | |
| 2001 | Fireworks | 2,412 | 46.6 mi | |
| 2001 | Arson/incendiarism | 2,250 | 23.3 mi | |
| 1994 | Arson/incendiarism | 2,233 | 40.6 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 West Virginia cities with population within ±25% of West Hamlin. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
1 departments report to NFIRS for incidents in West Hamlin.
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.