In 2025, fire departments serving West Jefferson responded to 59 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $80K building blaze. Here's the full picture.
Gas leak (natural gas or LPG) lead by count. Building fires lead by dollars. Together the top five categories make up about 70% of all calls.
Apr peaks. Mar dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
343 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2022. $824K cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 77 | — | |
| 2022 | 84 | +9.1% | |
| 2023 | 49 | -41.7% | |
| 2024 | 74 | +51.0% | |
| 2025 | 59 | -20.3% |
For the 11 building fires West Jefferson departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 79 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 | 20 | 25.3% | |
| 2 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 17 | 21.5% | |
| 3 | Operator/passenger area of transportation equip. | 5 | 6.3% | |
| 4 | Other | 4 | 5.1% | |
| 5 | Outside area, other | 4 | 5.1% | |
| 6 | Cooking area, kitchen | 3 | 3.8% | |
| 7 | Processing/manufacturing area, workroom | 3 | 3.8% | |
| 8 | Chute/container - trash, rubbish, waste | 3 | 3.8% | |
| 9 | Cargo/trunk area - all vehicles | 3 | 3.8% | |
| 10 | Exterior, exposed surface | 3 | 3.8% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 14 | 17.7% |
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 Jefferson mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 47 | 59.5% | |
| 2 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 8 | 10.1% | |
| 3 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 5 | 6.3% | |
| 4 | Arcing | 4 | 5.1% | |
| 5 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 3 | 3.8% | |
| 6 | Hot ember or ash | 3 | 3.8% | |
| 7 | Heat source: other | 2 | 2.5% | |
| 8 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 1 | 1.3% | |
| 9 | Heat, spark from friction | 1 | 1.3% | |
| 10 | Molten, hot material | 1 | 1.3% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 4 | 5.1% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by West Jefferson departments in 2025. These 5 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $80,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 2 | $50,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $2,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 4 | $500 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 5 | $1 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. West Jefferson sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 20 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 1,083 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 355 | 48.8 mi | |
| 2005 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 332 | 48.6 mi | |
| 2020 | Debris and open burning | 50 | 49.1 mi | |
| 2015 | Debris and open burning | 50 | 47.2 mi | |
| 2003 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 35 | 45.6 mi | |
| 2008 | Debris and open burning | 25 | 49.2 mi | |
| 2012 | Debris and open burning | 25 | 47.0 mi | |
| 2020 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 25 | 40.4 mi | |
| 2002 | Debris and open burning | 25 | 34.4 mi | |
| 2012 | Debris and open burning | 24 | 32.2 mi | |
| 2012 | Debris and open burning | 24 | 45.5 mi | |
| 2012 | Recreation and ceremony | 18 | 46.4 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 Ohio cities with population within ±25% of West Jefferson. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
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.