In 2025, fire departments serving Woodstock responded to 111 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $50K building blaze. Here's the full picture.
Vehicle accident, general cleanup lead by count. Building fires lead by dollars. Together the top five categories make up about 50% of all calls.
Jan peaks. Dec dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
501 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2022. $1.0M cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 63 | — | |
| 2022 | 137 | +117.5% | |
| 2023 | 101 | -26.3% | |
| 2024 | 89 | -11.9% | |
| 2025 | 111 | +24.7% |
For the 15 building fires Woodstock departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 73 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 | 25 | 34.2% | |
| 2 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 17 | 23.3% | |
| 3 | Cooking area, kitchen | 6 | 8.2% | |
| 4 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 3 | 4.1% | |
| 5 | Other | 2 | 2.7% | |
| 6 | Storage area, other | 2 | 2.7% | |
| 7 | Vehicle storage area; garage, carport | 2 | 2.7% | |
| 8 | Wall surface: exterior | 2 | 2.7% | |
| 9 | Cargo/trunk area - all vehicles | 2 | 2.7% | |
| 10 | Outside area, other | 2 | 2.7% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 10 | 13.7% |
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 Woodstock mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 39 | 53.4% | |
| 2 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 8 | 11.0% | |
| 3 | Cigarette | 5 | 6.8% | |
| 4 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 4 | 5.5% | |
| 5 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 4 | 5.5% | |
| 6 | Heat, spark from friction | 4 | 5.5% | |
| 7 | Hot ember or ash | 2 | 2.7% | |
| 8 | Heat from direct flame, convection currents | 2 | 2.7% | |
| 9 | Multiple heat sources including multiple ignitions | 2 | 2.7% | |
| 10 | Arcing | 1 | 1.4% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 2 | 2.7% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Woodstock departments in 2025. These 8 fires alone account for 96% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $50,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 2 | $20,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $12,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 4 | $10,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 5 | $10,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 6 | $9,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 7 | $7,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 8 | $5,000 | Overheated motor | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Woodstock sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 70,827 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | Recreation and ceremony | 16,021 | 21.3 mi | |
| 2016 | Recreation and ceremony | 10,326 | 39.4 mi | |
| 2000 | Arson/incendiarism | 6,131 | 25.5 mi | |
| 2002 | Arson/incendiarism | 4,200 | 25.2 mi | |
| 2012 | Arson/incendiarism | 3,717 | 26.3 mi | |
| 2000 | Natural | 2,743 | 27.2 mi | |
| 2011 | Power generation/transmission/distribution | 2,564 | 38.0 mi | |
| 1999 | Debris and open burning | 2,206 | 49.2 mi | |
| 2012 | Natural | 2,138 | 14.5 mi | |
| 2011 | Other causes | 1,989 | 17.9 mi | |
| 2006 | Arson/incendiarism | 1,935 | 13.8 mi | |
| 2001 | Equipment and vehicle use | 1,800 | 39.8 mi |
Top 2 ZIP codes by NFIRS incident count across 2021–2025. Each ZIP has its own fire profile — dive in for neighborhood-level context.
Six Virginia cities with population within ±25% of Woodstock. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
1 departments report to NFIRS for incidents in Woodstock.
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.