In 2025, fire departments serving Ashland responded to 229 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $1.5M 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 51% of all calls.
Apr peaks. Mar dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
1,276 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2022. $3.5M cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 267 | — | |
| 2022 | 286 | +7.1% | |
| 2023 | 257 | -10.1% | |
| 2024 | 237 | -7.8% | |
| 2025 | 229 | -3.4% |
For the 19 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 387 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 | 192 | 49.6% | |
| 2 | Outside area, other | 32 | 8.3% | |
| 3 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 29 | 7.5% | |
| 4 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 26 | 6.7% | |
| 5 | Cooking area, kitchen | 15 | 3.9% | |
| 6 | Wildland, woods | 13 | 3.4% | |
| 7 | Other | 9 | 2.3% | |
| 8 | Vehicle area, other | 5 | 1.3% | |
| 9 | Storage area, other | 4 | 1.0% | |
| 10 | Vehicle storage area; garage, carport | 4 | 1.0% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 58 | 15.0% |
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 | 254 | 65.6% | |
| 2 | Hot ember or ash | 28 | 7.2% | |
| 3 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 15 | 3.9% | |
| 4 | Arcing | 13 | 3.4% | |
| 5 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 11 | 2.8% | |
| 6 | Heat source: other | 10 | 2.6% | |
| 7 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 9 | 2.3% | |
| 8 | Flame/torch used for lighting | 8 | 2.1% | |
| 9 | Match | 6 | 1.6% | |
| 10 | Cigarette lighter | 6 | 1.6% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 27 | 7.0% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Ashland departments in 2025. These 8 fires alone account for 96% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $1,500,000 | Building fires | Major | Investigated |
| 2 | $190,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $40,000 | Fire, other | Significant | Investigated |
| 4 | $30,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 5 | $25,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 6 | $20,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 7 | $20,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 8 | $20,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Ashland sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 22 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 686 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2015 | Debris and open burning | 171 | 11.8 mi | |
| 2013 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 150 | 45.0 mi | |
| 2014 | Debris and open burning | 35 | 45.4 mi | |
| 2005 | Debris and open burning | 30 | 33.3 mi | |
| 2014 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 30 | 42.6 mi | |
| 2014 | Debris and open burning | 25 | 45.2 mi | |
| 2016 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 25 | 44.9 mi | |
| 2002 | Recreation and ceremony | 25 | 21.7 mi | |
| 2019 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 20 | 5.2 mi | |
| 2020 | Debris and open burning | 20 | 9.5 mi | |
| 2020 | Debris and open burning | 20 | 6.7 mi | |
| 2014 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 20 | 36.0 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 | 44805 | 1,276 |
Six Ohio cities with population within ±25% of Ashland. 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.