In 2025, fire departments serving Westover responded to 23 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $8K 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 65% of all calls.
Jul peaks. Nov dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
127 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2022. $357K cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 23 | — | |
| 2022 | 33 | +43.5% | |
| 2023 | 18 | -45.5% | |
| 2024 | 30 | +66.7% | |
| 2025 | 23 | -23.3% |
For the 5 building fires Westover departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 24 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 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 7 | 29.2% | |
| 2 | Cooking area, kitchen | 6 | 25.0% | |
| 3 | Cargo/trunk area - all vehicles | 4 | 16.7% | |
| 4 | Exterior balcony, unenclosed porch | 2 | 8.3% | |
| 5 | Other | 1 | 4.2% | |
| 6 | Common room, den, family room, living room, lounge | 1 | 4.2% | |
| 7 | Bedroom - < 5 persons; included are jail or prison | 1 | 4.2% | |
| 8 | Bathroom, checkroom, lavatory, locker room | 1 | 4.2% | |
| 9 | Vacant structural area | 1 | 4.2% |
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 Westover mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 13 | 54.2% | |
| 2 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 4 | 16.7% | |
| 3 | Arcing | 2 | 8.3% | |
| 4 | Multiple heat sources including multiple ignitions | 2 | 8.3% | |
| 5 | Cigarette | 1 | 4.2% | |
| 6 | Heat from undetermined smoking material | 1 | 4.2% | |
| 7 | Radiated heat from another fire | 1 | 4.2% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Westover departments in 2025. These 4 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $8,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 2 | $5,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $5,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 4 | $1,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Westover sits below the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 1,752 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | Smoking | 394 | 16.9 mi | |
| 2015 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 150 | 49.1 mi | |
| 2002 | Recreation and ceremony | 117 | 48.4 mi | |
| 2001 | Smoking | 102 | 34.1 mi | |
| 1999 | Debris and open burning | 76 | 29.1 mi | |
| 1999 | Power generation/transmission/distribution | 71 | 33.8 mi | |
| 1999 | Power generation/transmission/distribution | 70 | 42.5 mi | |
| 1998 | Arson/incendiarism | 62 | 17.5 mi | |
| 2005 | Arson/incendiarism | 60 | 33.0 mi | |
| 2005 | Debris and open burning | 60 | 26.5 mi | |
| 1999 | Fireworks | 50 | 24.2 mi | |
| 2014 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 49 | 48.8 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 Westover. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
1 departments report to NFIRS for incidents in Westover.
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.