In 2025, fire departments serving Ada responded to 42 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $25K building blaze. Here's the full picture.
Building fires lead by count. Building fires lead by dollars. Together the top five categories make up about 50% of all calls.
Mar peaks. Feb dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
189 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2025. $525K cumulative property loss. 2 civilian deaths.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 30 | — | |
| 2022 | 41 | +36.7% | |
| 2023 | 38 | -7.3% | |
| 2024 | 38 | +0.0% | |
| 2025 | 42 | +10.5% |
For the 5 building fires Ada departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 70 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 | Outside area, other | 9 | 12.9% | |
| 2 | Undetermined | 9 | 12.9% | |
| 3 | Cooking area, kitchen | 7 | 10.0% | |
| 4 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 6 | 8.6% | |
| 5 | Exterior, exposed surface | 4 | 5.7% | |
| 6 | Vehicle storage area; garage, carport | 3 | 4.3% | |
| 7 | Equipment or service area, other | 3 | 4.3% | |
| 8 | Wall surface: exterior | 3 | 4.3% | |
| 9 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 3 | 4.3% | |
| 10 | Other | 2 | 2.9% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 21 | 30.0% |
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 Ada mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 29 | 41.4% | |
| 2 | Heat source: other | 7 | 10.0% | |
| 3 | Heat from direct flame, convection currents | 6 | 8.6% | |
| 4 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 5 | 7.1% | |
| 5 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 5 | 7.1% | |
| 6 | Heat from other open flame or smoking materials | 4 | 5.7% | |
| 7 | Arcing | 3 | 4.3% | |
| 8 | Hot ember or ash | 2 | 2.9% | |
| 9 | Heat spread from another fire, other | 2 | 2.9% | |
| 10 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 1 | 1.4% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 6 | 8.6% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Ada departments in 2025. These 4 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $25,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 2 | $1,500 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $1,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 4 | $1,000 | Cooking fire, confined to container | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Ada sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 4 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 425 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2005 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 332 | 30.4 mi | |
| 2019 | Debris and open burning | 58 | 35.3 mi | |
| 2002 | Debris and open burning | 25 | 49.3 mi | |
| 2019 | Debris and open burning | 10 | 32.8 mi |
Top 4 ZIP codes by NFIRS incident count across 2021–2025. Each ZIP has its own fire profile — dive in for neighborhood-level context.
Six Ohio cities with population within ±25% of Ada. 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.