Arborlook
Arborlook Insights
Risk & Response

Berkeley County, WV

Community risk profile | NRI Score: 43.7 Relatively Moderate

129,514
Population
9
Departments
17
Stations
26
Census Tracts

Natural Hazard Loss Profile

Expected annual loss across the 18 natural hazards in FEMA's National Risk Index. Life safety is expressed in fatality-equivalents, combining expected deaths and injuries. Property loss counts building damage only, not agriculture.

Natural Hazard Life Safety
0.36
expected fatality-equivalents per year, natural hazards only
7th highest of 55
Life Safety per 100k
0.28
natural hazard fatality-equivalents per 100,000 residents
42nd highest of 55
Natural Hazard Property Loss
$29.4M
expected building loss per year, natural hazards only
7th highest of 55
Property Loss per Resident
$227
natural hazard building loss per resident per year
54th highest of 55

These figures cover natural hazards only. Structure fire, EMS, and motor vehicle incidents are not in the National Risk Index, so this is not an all-cause life safety measure. For Berkeley County, the largest single contributor is Strong Wind, 39% of the life-safety total.

Berkeley County carries an expected under 1 natural hazard fatality-equivalents and $29.4M in building loss per year. Rank chips compare the 55 West Virginia counties. Nationally, Berkeley County ranks 1362nd of 3,222 U.S. counties for life-safety loss, 3040th for life safety per 100k residents, 603rd for property loss, and 2516th for property loss per resident. Computed from census tract data covering every resident, independent of fire department boundaries.

Add fire mortality, cause, and loss

Natural hazard exposure is only part of the risk. Fire deaths and injuries, cause of ignition, and dollar loss per incident come from NERIS incident reporting, which grows as departments serving Berkeley County enroll. Our Regional tier adds that data for the departments your jurisdiction sponsors, next to public risk and NERIS adoption for every department in Berkeley County.

Talk to us about Berkeley County See what a department sees

Loss Breakdown

84%
14%
Property (buildings): $29.4M (83.5%)
Life safety: $4.9M (13.9%)
Agriculture: $913K (2.6%)

Total expected annual loss: $35,234,177 per year. Life safety is shown here in dollars, at FEMA's $13.7M value of statistical life, so the three shares sum to the total.

Hazards Ranked Two Ways

The hazard that threatens people is often not the hazard that destroys buildings. Both columns cover the same 18 hazards over the same year.

By life-safety loss ($/yr)

Strong Wind
$1.9M
Heat Wave
$1.3M
Tornado
$630K
Lightning
$370K
Earthquake
$153K
Inland Flooding
$126K

By property loss ($/yr)

Inland Flooding
$25.0M
Hurricane
$2.4M
Earthquake
$672K
Tornado
$606K
Hail
$454K
Strong Wind
$142K

Census Tract Risk Map

Shaded by quintile across the census tracts in Berkeley County. Gray tracts have no modeled loss or no resident population. Per-resident figures on this map use the National Risk Index 2020 tract population.

Fire Service Profile

22%
11%
67%
Career: 22% (2)
Combination: 11% (1)
Volunteer: 67% (6)
Residents per Station
7,618
census population per registered station
Stations per 100k
13.1
registered stations per 100,000 residents

Department composition covers the 9 departments registered in NERIS Public for Berkeley County, WV. Departments that have not registered are not counted. Station coverage divides census population by registered stations; department service areas overlap, so their populations are not summed.

Department Rankings

Fire and EMS departments serving Berkeley County. Click column headers to sort.

NRI Rating is from FEMA's National Risk Index, which measures community risk across 18 natural hazards using expected annual losses, social vulnerability, and community resilience. Life-Safety Loss uses FEMA's Value of Statistical Life ($13.7M per expected fatality) to estimate annual risk to human life.

Department boundaries and station counts are self-reported through NERIS Public and may not reflect current service areas. Population and Life-Safety Loss reflect each department's full jurisdiction. County-level risk metrics are computed from census tract data and are not affected by boundary accuracy. See full methodology.

Showing 9 departments
Department ▲ Est. Population ▲ Life-Safety Loss ▼ NRI Rating ▲ Stations ▲
Hedgesville Volunteer Fire Company, Inc. 39,605 $1.7M Relatively Moderate 3
167 Ces Fire Department 39,869 $1.5M Relatively Low 1
South Berkeley Volunteer Fire Company 39,869 $1.5M Relatively Low 2
Baker Heights Volunteer Fire Department 36,627 $1.4M Relatively Moderate 2
Bedington Fire & Rescue 34,033 $1.3M Relatively Moderate 2
Back Creek Valley Volunteer Fire Company 24,061 $837.2K Relatively Moderate 2
Williamsport Volunteer Fire & Ems, Inc. 28,609 $738.6K Relatively Low 1
Shepherdstown Fire Department, Inc. 14,830 $610.0K Relatively Moderate 1
Martinsburg Fire Department 12,897 $554.3K Relatively Moderate 3
No departments match your search.

Risk Snapshot

11.1%
Poverty Rate
15.3%
Age 65+
14.3%
Disability Rate
5.9%
Uninsured
27.7%
Pre-1980 Housing
10.3%
Mobile Homes
5.2%
Vacancy Rate
3.5%
Wood Heat
$82,605
Median HH Income

FEMA Disaster Declarations

3
Last 10 Years
12
Last 25 Years
Severe Storm
Most Frequent

Every department in your region, on one briefing

Our Regional tier gives state fire marshals and county fire authorities one briefing across every department in the jurisdiction: priority tracts ranked by risk and demand, NERIS adoption by county, and a quarterly report with a page per department. Response times appear for the departments you sponsor. Free 90-day pilot.

Explore the Regional Tier See the Response Demo