In 2025, fire departments serving Bridgeport responded to 52 fire and hazmat incidents . 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.
Mar peaks. Oct dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
259 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2021. $69K cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 60 | — | |
| 2022 | 53 | -11.7% | |
| 2023 | 53 | +0.0% | |
| 2024 | 41 | -22.6% | |
| 2025 | 52 | +26.8% |
For the 9 building fires Bridgeport departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 63 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 | 22 | 34.9% | |
| 2 | Outside area, other | 13 | 20.6% | |
| 3 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 7 | 11.1% | |
| 4 | Cooking area, kitchen | 4 | 6.3% | |
| 5 | Other | 3 | 4.8% | |
| 6 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 3 | 4.8% | |
| 7 | Duct: hvac, cable, exhaust, heating, or AC | 2 | 3.2% | |
| 8 | Bathroom, checkroom, lavatory, locker room | 1 | 1.6% | |
| 9 | Chute/container - trash, rubbish, waste | 1 | 1.6% | |
| 10 | Conduit, pipe, utility, or ventilation shaft | 1 | 1.6% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 6 | 9.5% |
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 Bridgeport mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 38 | 60.3% | |
| 2 | Heat source: other | 3 | 4.8% | |
| 3 | Hot ember or ash | 3 | 4.8% | |
| 4 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 2 | 3.2% | |
| 5 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 2 | 3.2% | |
| 6 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 2 | 3.2% | |
| 7 | Molten, hot material | 2 | 3.2% | |
| 8 | Match | 2 | 3.2% | |
| 9 | Cigarette lighter | 2 | 3.2% | |
| 10 | Flame/torch used for lighting | 2 | 3.2% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 5 | 7.9% |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Bridgeport sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 1,591 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2014 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 175 | 42.9 mi | |
| 2012 | Equipment and vehicle use | 147 | 47.9 mi | |
| 2001 | Smoking | 102 | 46.4 mi | |
| 2019 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 100 | 23.5 mi | |
| 2014 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 100 | 49.1 mi | |
| 2003 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 78 | 48.7 mi | |
| 2013 | Recreation and ceremony | 75 | 48.9 mi | |
| 1999 | Power generation/transmission/distribution | 71 | 41.6 mi | |
| 1998 | Arson/incendiarism | 62 | 48.5 mi | |
| 2020 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 60 | 44.6 mi | |
| 2014 | Debris and open burning | 60 | 44.5 mi | |
| 2001 | Arson/incendiarism | 55 | 45.2 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 | 43912 | 259 |
Six Ohio cities with population within ±25% of Bridgeport. 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.