In 2025, fire departments serving Alliance responded to 330 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $500K building blaze. Here's the full picture.
Power line down lead by count. Building fires lead by dollars. Together the top five categories make up about 67% of all calls.
Sep peaks. Dec dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
1,732 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2023. $2.4M cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 294 | — | |
| 2022 | 320 | +8.8% | |
| 2023 | 487 | +52.2% | |
| 2024 | 301 | -38.2% | |
| 2025 | 330 | +9.6% |
For the 58 building fires Alliance departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 287 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 | 63 | 22.0% | |
| 2 | Cooking area, kitchen | 37 | 12.9% | |
| 3 | Outside area, other | 34 | 11.8% | |
| 4 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 20 | 7.0% | |
| 5 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 19 | 6.6% | |
| 6 | Vehicle storage area; garage, carport | 13 | 4.5% | |
| 7 | Wildland, woods | 9 | 3.1% | |
| 8 | Other | 8 | 2.8% | |
| 9 | Bedroom - < 5 persons; included are jail or prison | 8 | 2.8% | |
| 10 | Vehicle area, other | 7 | 2.4% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 69 | 24.0% |
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 Alliance mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 148 | 51.6% | |
| 2 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 24 | 8.4% | |
| 3 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 20 | 7.0% | |
| 4 | Arcing | 16 | 5.6% | |
| 5 | Cigarette lighter | 13 | 4.5% | |
| 6 | Hot ember or ash | 12 | 4.2% | |
| 7 | Cigarette | 7 | 2.4% | |
| 8 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 6 | 2.1% | |
| 9 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 6 | 2.1% | |
| 10 | Heat from direct flame, convection currents | 6 | 2.1% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 29 | 10.1% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Alliance departments in 2025. These 8 fires alone account for 98% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $500,000 | Building fires | Major | Investigated |
| 2 | $190,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $125,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 4 | $30,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 5 | $15,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 6 | $15,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 7 | $5,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 8 | $5,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Alliance sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 915 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2014 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 175 | 22.8 mi | |
| 2013 | Debris and open burning | 106 | 42.0 mi | |
| 2003 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 78 | 16.9 mi | |
| 2014 | Debris and open burning | 60 | 22.1 mi | |
| 1992 | Arson/incendiarism | 48 | 49.9 mi | |
| 2015 | Arson/incendiarism | 35 | 16.7 mi | |
| 2005 | Debris and open burning | 31 | 41.5 mi | |
| 2005 | Debris and open burning | 30 | 11.4 mi | |
| 2014 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 30 | 33.4 mi | |
| 2016 | Debris and open burning | 30 | 33.6 mi | |
| 2002 | Recreation and ceremony | 25 | 41.0 mi | |
| 2013 | Debris and open burning | 25 | 13.2 mi |
Top 8 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 Alliance. 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.