In 2025, fire departments serving Akron responded to 29 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $250K building blaze. Here's the full picture.
Brush, or brush and grass mixture fire lead by count. Building fires lead by dollars. Together the top five categories make up about 72% of all calls.
Mar peaks. Sep dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
123 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2024. $1.4M cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 24 | — | |
| 2022 | 18 | -25.0% | |
| 2023 | 21 | +16.7% | |
| 2024 | 31 | +47.6% | |
| 2025 | 29 | -6.5% |
For the 6 building fires Akron departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 44 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 | 12 | 27.3% | |
| 2 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 7 | 15.9% | |
| 3 | Storage area, other | 4 | 9.1% | |
| 4 | Other | 3 | 6.8% | |
| 5 | Conveyor | 3 | 6.8% | |
| 6 | Attic: vacant, crawl space above top story, cupola | 2 | 4.5% | |
| 7 | Wall assembly | 2 | 4.5% | |
| 8 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 2 | 4.5% | |
| 9 | Cooking area, kitchen | 1 | 2.3% | |
| 10 | Bathroom, checkroom, lavatory, locker room | 1 | 2.3% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 7 | 15.9% |
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 Akron mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 21 | 47.7% | |
| 2 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 4 | 9.1% | |
| 3 | Arcing | 3 | 6.8% | |
| 4 | Heat source: other | 2 | 4.5% | |
| 5 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 2 | 4.5% | |
| 6 | Heat, spark from friction | 2 | 4.5% | |
| 7 | Hot ember or ash | 2 | 4.5% | |
| 8 | Flying brand, ember, spark | 2 | 4.5% | |
| 9 | Incendiary device | 1 | 2.3% | |
| 10 | Cigarette | 1 | 2.3% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 4 | 9.1% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Akron departments in 2025. These 2 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $250,000 | Building fires | Major | Investigated |
| 2 | $5,000 | Brush, or brush and grass mixture fire | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Akron sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 2 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 35 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2005 | Recreation and ceremony | 20 | 41.4 mi | |
| 2002 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 15 | 27.7 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 | 46910 | 123 |
Six Indiana cities with population within ±25% of Akron. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
1 departments report to NFIRS for incidents in Akron.
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.