In 2025, fire departments serving Williamstown responded to 34 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $70K 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 76% of all calls.
Jun peaks. Sep dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
149 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2025. $166K cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 31 | — | |
| 2022 | 25 | -19.4% | |
| 2023 | 28 | +12.0% | |
| 2024 | 31 | +10.7% | |
| 2025 | 34 | +9.7% |
For the 5 building fires Williamstown departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 21 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 | 33.3% | |
| 2 | Undetermined | 3 | 14.3% | |
| 3 | Other | 2 | 9.5% | |
| 4 | Cooking area, kitchen | 2 | 9.5% | |
| 5 | Entrance way, lobby | 1 | 4.8% | |
| 6 | Vehicle storage area; garage, carport | 1 | 4.8% | |
| 7 | Structural area, other | 1 | 4.8% | |
| 8 | Ceiling & floor assembly, crawl space b/t stories | 1 | 4.8% | |
| 9 | Vehicle area, other | 1 | 4.8% | |
| 10 | Outside area, other | 1 | 4.8% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 1 | 4.8% |
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 Williamstown mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 11 | 52.4% | |
| 2 | Hot ember or ash | 3 | 14.3% | |
| 3 | Heat source: other | 1 | 4.8% | |
| 4 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 1 | 4.8% | |
| 5 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 1 | 4.8% | |
| 6 | Arcing | 1 | 4.8% | |
| 7 | Cigarette | 1 | 4.8% | |
| 8 | Backfire from internal combustion engine | 1 | 4.8% | |
| 9 | Lightning | 1 | 4.8% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Williamstown departments in 2025. These 3 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $70,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 2 | $7,500 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $3,500 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Williamstown sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 2,004 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2012 | Equipment and vehicle use | 147 | 29.6 mi | |
| 2015 | Power generation/transmission/distribution | 131 | 49.0 mi | |
| 2013 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 130 | 32.5 mi | |
| 1995 | Equipment and vehicle use | 125 | 25.9 mi | |
| 2010 | Debris and open burning | 120 | 39.2 mi | |
| 2018 | Arson/incendiarism | 109 | 35.5 mi | |
| 2001 | Smoking | 102 | 47.8 mi | |
| 2019 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 100 | 38.1 mi | |
| 1995 | Debris and open burning | 100 | 35.4 mi | |
| 1999 | Recreation and ceremony | 83 | 44.7 mi | |
| 2013 | Recreation and ceremony | 75 | 47.1 mi | |
| 1999 | Power generation/transmission/distribution | 71 | 46.5 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 Williamstown. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
1 departments report to NFIRS for incidents in Williamstown.
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.