In 2025, fire departments serving Bluffton responded to 54 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $200K 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 63% of all calls.
Apr peaks. Jul dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
208 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2024. $1.1M cumulative property loss. 2 civilian deaths.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 29 | — | |
| 2022 | 39 | +34.5% | |
| 2023 | 32 | -17.9% | |
| 2024 | 54 | +68.8% | |
| 2025 | 54 | +0.0% |
For the 19 building fires Bluffton departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 92 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 | 18 | 19.6% | |
| 2 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 17 | 18.5% | |
| 3 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 14 | 15.2% | |
| 4 | Highway, parking lot, street: on or near | 7 | 7.6% | |
| 5 | Other | 6 | 6.5% | |
| 6 | Wall surface: exterior | 5 | 5.4% | |
| 7 | Cooking area, kitchen | 4 | 4.3% | |
| 8 | Chute/container - trash, rubbish, waste | 3 | 3.3% | |
| 9 | Undetermined | 3 | 3.3% | |
| 10 | Storage area, other | 2 | 2.2% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 13 | 14.1% |
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 Bluffton mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 32 | 34.8% | |
| 2 | Chemical reaction | 11 | 12.0% | |
| 3 | Heat, spark from friction | 7 | 7.6% | |
| 4 | Hot ember or ash | 7 | 7.6% | |
| 5 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 5 | 5.4% | |
| 6 | Heat from direct flame, convection currents | 5 | 5.4% | |
| 7 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 4 | 4.3% | |
| 8 | Radiated heat from another fire | 4 | 4.3% | |
| 9 | Heat source: other | 3 | 3.3% | |
| 10 | Arcing | 3 | 3.3% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 11 | 12.0% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Bluffton departments in 2025. These 8 fires alone account for 97% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $200,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 2 | $168,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $75,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 4 | $75,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 5 | $45,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 6 | $10,000 | Road freight or transport vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 7 | $7,500 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 8 | $7,500 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Bluffton sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 6 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 431 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 | 36.6 mi | |
| 2019 | Debris and open burning | 58 | 26.2 mi | |
| 2015 | Debris and open burning | 11 | 45.7 mi | |
| 2019 | Debris and open burning | 10 | 23.8 mi | |
| 2015 | Debris and open burning | 10 | 43.8 mi | |
| 2016 | Debris and open burning | 10 | 48.8 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 Bluffton. 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.