In 2025, fire departments serving Aberdeen responded to 27 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 56% of all calls.
Feb peaks. Jun dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
179 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2022. $536K cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 36 | — | |
| 2022 | 49 | +36.1% | |
| 2023 | 38 | -22.4% | |
| 2024 | 29 | -23.7% | |
| 2025 | 27 | -6.9% |
For the 3 building fires Aberdeen departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 39 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 | 6 | 15.4% | |
| 2 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 5 | 12.8% | |
| 3 | Outside area, other | 4 | 10.3% | |
| 4 | Cooking area, kitchen | 3 | 7.7% | |
| 5 | Wildland, woods | 3 | 7.7% | |
| 6 | Bedroom - < 5 persons; included are jail or prison | 2 | 5.1% | |
| 7 | Laundry area, wash house (laundry) | 2 | 5.1% | |
| 8 | Operator/passenger area of transportation equip. | 2 | 5.1% | |
| 9 | Highway, parking lot, street: on or near | 2 | 5.1% | |
| 10 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 2 | 5.1% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 8 | 20.5% |
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 Aberdeen mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 14 | 35.9% | |
| 2 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 5 | 12.8% | |
| 3 | Arcing | 4 | 10.3% | |
| 4 | Hot ember or ash | 3 | 7.7% | |
| 5 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 2 | 5.1% | |
| 6 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 2 | 5.1% | |
| 7 | Heat source: other | 1 | 2.6% | |
| 8 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 1 | 2.6% | |
| 9 | Fireworks | 1 | 2.6% | |
| 10 | Cigarette | 1 | 2.6% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 5 | 12.8% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Aberdeen departments in 2025. These 3 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $50,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 2 | $30,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $2,000 | Outside equipment fire | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Aberdeen sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 12,989 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2009 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 2,865 | 30.9 mi | |
| 2010 | Power generation/transmission/distribution | 1,102 | 41.5 mi | |
| 2003 | Debris and open burning | 1,016 | 33.1 mi | |
| 1999 | Debris and open burning | 1,000 | 24.6 mi | |
| 2005 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 650 | 46.5 mi | |
| 2010 | Debris and open burning | 591 | 18.1 mi | |
| 2016 | Debris and open burning | 476 | 43.1 mi | |
| 2002 | Debris and open burning | 450 | 40.1 mi | |
| 2000 | Recreation and ceremony | 400 | 41.4 mi | |
| 2017 | Arson/incendiarism | 390 | 27.4 mi | |
| 2006 | Debris and open burning | 375 | 45.3 mi | |
| 2005 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 366 | 28.7 mi |
Top 1 ZIP codes by NFIRS incident count across 2021–2025. Each ZIP has its own fire profile — dive in for neighborhood-level context.
| # | ZIP | 5-yr incidents | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 45101 | 179 |
Six Ohio cities with population within ±25% of Aberdeen. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
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.