West Virginia
The public collection covers about two-thirds of counties for two recent years, and the one official all-county source reports a rate (deaths per 1,000 fires) rather than the death counts scoring requires.
Why this state isn't scored
The Fireground Index scores one comparable metric — the civilian fire-death rate — computed from exact per-county death counts and Census population. For West Virginia, no public source provides those counts completely and unsuppressed for all 55 counties. Rather than publish estimated, partial, or suppressed figures, the state is shown here transparently.
Sources checked
| Source | What it provides |
|---|---|
| NASFM Fire Fatality Data Hub — West Virginia | Populated but partial: ~38 of 55 counties, 2023–2024 only. |
| WV State Fire Marshal | No public per-county fire-death table (WVFIRS is a records-request system). |
| WV Legislative Auditor (PERD) 2025 review | Lists all 55 counties, but as a rate (deaths per 1,000 fires) — the underlying death counts and fire denominators are not published. |
What failed the source gate
Every state must clear this public-source standard before it is scored:
- Public & authoritative (a state fire-marshal / fire-agency or primary record)
- County-level (or the jurisdiction's county-equivalents)
- Civilian fire deaths, incident-based (counted where the fire occurred; firefighter line-of-duty excluded)
- Exact counts — not rates, not statistically suppressed small cells
- All counties present, with zero-death counties verifiable (not ambiguous omission)
- A recent 5-year window, or a best-available clearly-labeled window
Not met for West Virginia:
- Exact death counts (official all-county figures are rates)
- All 55 counties present in a count series
- Complete recent 5-year window
What data would unlock scoring
A per-county civilian fire-death count table (all 55 counties, explicit zeros) for a recent window, or the count/denominator data behind the audit's rates.
Could a records request unlock it?
Likely yes. A FOIA to the SFM for per-county fire-death counts, or NASFM finalizing the West Virginia collection, would unlock scoring.
Relevant office: WV State Fire Marshal (SFMFOIA@wv.gov) / WVFIRS
Have this data? Help make West Virginia scoreable.
If you work with a state fire marshal’s office, fire-service data program, or public-health agency and can share a complete, per-county civilian fire-death dataset, we will evaluate it against the public-source standard and — if it qualifies — publish a fully-cited scorecard for West Virginia.
Contact the Fireground team (opens in a new tab)