In 2025, fire departments serving Belle Center responded to 48 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $1.5M building blaze. Here's the full picture.
Building fires lead by count. Building fires lead by dollars. Together the top five categories make up about 69% of all calls.
May peaks. Aug dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
169 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2025. $6.1M cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 21 | — | |
| 2022 | 30 | +42.9% | |
| 2023 | 27 | -10.0% | |
| 2024 | 43 | +59.3% | |
| 2025 | 48 | +11.6% |
For the 22 building fires Belle Center departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 39 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 | Other | 5 | 12.8% | |
| 2 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 5 | 12.8% | |
| 3 | Undetermined | 5 | 12.8% | |
| 4 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 4 | 10.3% | |
| 5 | Wall surface: exterior | 3 | 7.7% | |
| 6 | Substructure area or space, crawl space | 2 | 5.1% | |
| 7 | Ceiling & floor assembly, crawl space b/t stories | 2 | 5.1% | |
| 8 | Outside area, other | 2 | 5.1% | |
| 9 | Chute/container - trash, rubbish, waste | 1 | 2.6% | |
| 10 | Vehicle storage area; garage, carport | 1 | 2.6% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 9 | 23.1% |
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 Belle Center mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 11 | 28.2% | |
| 2 | Hot ember or ash | 4 | 10.3% | |
| 3 | Arcing | 3 | 7.7% | |
| 4 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 2 | 5.1% | |
| 5 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 2 | 5.1% | |
| 6 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 2 | 5.1% | |
| 7 | Cigarette lighter | 2 | 5.1% | |
| 8 | Lightning | 2 | 5.1% | |
| 9 | Radiated heat from another fire | 2 | 5.1% | |
| 10 | Flying brand, ember, spark | 2 | 5.1% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 7 | 17.9% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Belle Center departments in 2025. These 8 fires alone account for 99% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $1,500,000 | Building fires | Major | Investigated |
| 2 | $758,000 | Building fires | Major | Investigated |
| 3 | $558,000 | Building fires | Major | Investigated |
| 4 | $125,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 5 | $100,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 6 | $30,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 7 | $30,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 8 | $25,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Belle Center sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 3 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 372 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2005 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 332 | 26.9 mi | |
| 2002 | Debris and open burning | 25 | 32.7 mi | |
| 2002 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 15 | 39.3 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 | 43310 | 169 |
Six Ohio cities with population within ±25% of Belle Center. 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.