In 2025, fire departments serving Bedford responded to 120 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $25K 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 70% of all calls.
Oct peaks. Dec dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
954 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2024. $773K cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 202 | — | |
| 2022 | 214 | +5.9% | |
| 2023 | 193 | -9.8% | |
| 2024 | 225 | +16.6% | |
| 2025 | 120 | -46.7% |
For the 23 building fires Bedford departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 139 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 | Outside area, other | 36 | 25.9% | |
| 2 | Cooking area, kitchen | 20 | 14.4% | |
| 3 | Undetermined | 18 | 12.9% | |
| 4 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 11 | 7.9% | |
| 5 | Other | 9 | 6.5% | |
| 6 | Vehicle area, other | 5 | 3.6% | |
| 7 | Function area, other | 4 | 2.9% | |
| 8 | Common room, den, family room, living room, lounge | 3 | 2.2% | |
| 9 | Bedroom - < 5 persons; included are jail or prison | 3 | 2.2% | |
| 10 | Corridor, mall | 2 | 1.4% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 28 | 20.1% |
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 Bedford mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 91 | 65.5% | |
| 2 | Heat source: other | 7 | 5.0% | |
| 3 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 6 | 4.3% | |
| 4 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 5 | 3.6% | |
| 5 | Arcing | 4 | 2.9% | |
| 6 | Hot ember or ash | 4 | 2.9% | |
| 7 | Cigarette lighter | 4 | 2.9% | |
| 8 | Sunlight | 4 | 2.9% | |
| 9 | Chemical reaction | 3 | 2.2% | |
| 10 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 2 | 1.4% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 9 | 6.5% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Bedford departments in 2025. These 7 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $25,000 | Mobile property (vehicle) fire, other | Significant | Investigated |
| 2 | $8,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $5,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 4 | $2,500 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 5 | $1,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 6 | $1,000 | Cooking fire, confined to container | Significant | Investigated |
| 7 | $1,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Bedford sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 6 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 505 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 | 22.1 mi | |
| 2005 | Debris and open burning | 30 | 39.1 mi | |
| 2002 | Recreation and ceremony | 25 | 41.3 mi | |
| 2020 | Debris and open burning | 20 | 47.8 mi | |
| 2002 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 20 | 31.2 mi | |
| 2020 | Debris and open burning | 10 | 47.2 mi |
Top 5 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 Bedford. 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.