In 2025, fire departments serving Bay Village responded to 124 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $50K 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 77% of all calls.
Aug peaks. Mar dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
722 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2024. $1.1M cumulative property loss. 1 civilian deaths.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 174 | — | |
| 2022 | 133 | -23.6% | |
| 2023 | 107 | -19.5% | |
| 2024 | 184 | +72.0% | |
| 2025 | 124 | -32.6% |
For the 5 building fires Bay Village departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 60 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 | Cooking area, kitchen | 9 | 15.0% | |
| 2 | Outside area, other | 8 | 13.3% | |
| 3 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 5 | 8.3% | |
| 4 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 5 | 8.3% | |
| 5 | Vehicle storage area; garage, carport | 4 | 6.7% | |
| 6 | Common room, den, family room, living room, lounge | 3 | 5.0% | |
| 7 | Wall assembly | 3 | 5.0% | |
| 8 | Undetermined | 3 | 5.0% | |
| 9 | Other | 2 | 3.3% | |
| 10 | Bedroom - < 5 persons; included are jail or prison | 2 | 3.3% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 16 | 26.7% |
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 Bay Village mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 18 | 30.0% | |
| 2 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 6 | 10.0% | |
| 3 | Hot ember or ash | 5 | 8.3% | |
| 4 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 4 | 6.7% | |
| 5 | Arcing | 3 | 5.0% | |
| 6 | Heat from direct flame, convection currents | 3 | 5.0% | |
| 7 | Heat source: other | 2 | 3.3% | |
| 8 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 2 | 3.3% | |
| 9 | Heat, spark from friction | 2 | 3.3% | |
| 10 | Cigarette | 2 | 3.3% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 13 | 21.7% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Bay Village departments in 2025. These 4 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $50,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 2 | $20,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $5,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 4 | $500 | Special outside fire, other | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Bay Village sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 7 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 515 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2003 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 400 | 32.9 mi | |
| 2002 | Recreation and ceremony | 25 | 43.2 mi | |
| 2019 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 20 | 43.8 mi | |
| 2020 | Debris and open burning | 20 | 43.4 mi | |
| 2020 | Debris and open burning | 20 | 41.4 mi | |
| 2002 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 20 | 45.0 mi | |
| 2020 | Debris and open burning | 10 | 40.8 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 Ohio cities with population within ±25% of Bay Village. 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.