In 2025, fire departments serving Ashland responded to 39 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $130K building blaze. Here's the full picture.
Gas leak (natural gas or LPG) lead by count. Building fires lead by dollars. Together the top five categories make up about 49% of all calls.
Jun peaks. Jan dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
233 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2023. $2.1M cumulative property loss. 2 civilian deaths.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 44 | — | |
| 2022 | 46 | +4.5% | |
| 2023 | 62 | +34.8% | |
| 2024 | 42 | -32.3% | |
| 2025 | 39 | -7.1% |
For the 3 building fires Ashland departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 82 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 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 24 | 29.3% | |
| 2 | Outside area, other | 12 | 14.6% | |
| 3 | Undetermined | 7 | 8.5% | |
| 4 | Other | 6 | 7.3% | |
| 5 | Cargo/trunk area - all vehicles | 6 | 7.3% | |
| 6 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 6 | 7.3% | |
| 7 | Vehicle area, other | 4 | 4.9% | |
| 8 | Storage area, other | 3 | 3.7% | |
| 9 | Wildland, woods | 3 | 3.7% | |
| 10 | Function area, other | 2 | 2.4% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 9 | 11.0% |
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 Ashland mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 31 | 37.8% | |
| 2 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 11 | 13.4% | |
| 3 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 11 | 13.4% | |
| 4 | Arcing | 6 | 7.3% | |
| 5 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 5 | 6.1% | |
| 6 | Heat source: other | 4 | 4.9% | |
| 7 | Heat, spark from friction | 4 | 4.9% | |
| 8 | Fireworks | 2 | 2.4% | |
| 9 | Cigarette | 2 | 2.4% | |
| 10 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 1 | 1.2% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 5 | 6.1% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Ashland departments in 2025. These 7 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $130,000 | Off-road vehicle or heavy equipment fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 2 | $125,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $125,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 4 | $15,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 5 | $6,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 6 | $5,000 | Cultivated vegetation, crop fire, other | Significant | Investigated |
| 7 | $1,000 | Outside equipment fire | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Ashland sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 9,287 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2014 | Debris and open burning | 2,000 | 4.2 mi | |
| 2014 | Debris and open burning | 1,000 | 31.4 mi | |
| 2018 | Arson/incendiarism | 715 | 47.6 mi | |
| 2014 | Smoking | 700 | 25.2 mi | |
| 2018 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 500 | 27.2 mi | |
| 2014 | Debris and open burning | 450 | 32.7 mi | |
| 2005 | Equipment and vehicle use | 443 | 25.4 mi | |
| 2018 | Natural | 300 | 26.7 mi | |
| 2014 | Equipment and vehicle use | 280 | 19.6 mi | |
| 2009 | Debris and open burning | 250 | 26.2 mi | |
| 2011 | Debris and open burning | 240 | 43.1 mi | |
| 2018 | Smoking | 220 | 24.3 mi |
Top 2 ZIP codes by NFIRS incident count across 2021–2025. Each ZIP has its own fire profile — dive in for neighborhood-level context.
Six Nebraska cities with population within ±25% of Ashland. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
1 departments report to NFIRS for incidents in Ashland.
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.