In 2025, fire departments serving Caldwell responded to 25 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $40K 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 72% of all calls.
Apr peaks. Feb dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
140 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2024. $918K cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 24 | — | |
| 2022 | 29 | +20.8% | |
| 2023 | 28 | -3.4% | |
| 2024 | 34 | +21.4% | |
| 2025 | 25 | -26.5% |
For the 6 building fires Caldwell departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 64 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 | 26 | 40.6% | |
| 2 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 6 | 9.4% | |
| 3 | Other | 5 | 7.8% | |
| 4 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 4 | 6.2% | |
| 5 | Cooking area, kitchen | 3 | 4.7% | |
| 6 | Wall surface: exterior | 3 | 4.7% | |
| 7 | Wildland, woods | 3 | 4.7% | |
| 8 | Vehicle area, other | 2 | 3.1% | |
| 9 | Highway, parking lot, street: on or near | 2 | 3.1% | |
| 10 | Entrance way, lobby | 1 | 1.6% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 9 | 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 Caldwell mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 35 | 54.7% | |
| 2 | Heat source: other | 5 | 7.8% | |
| 3 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 5 | 7.8% | |
| 4 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 4 | 6.2% | |
| 5 | Hot ember or ash | 4 | 6.2% | |
| 6 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 3 | 4.7% | |
| 7 | Flying brand, ember, spark | 3 | 4.7% | |
| 8 | Arcing | 2 | 3.1% | |
| 9 | Molten, hot material | 2 | 3.1% | |
| 10 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 1 | 1.6% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Caldwell departments in 2025. These 7 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $40,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 2 | $25,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $20,000 | Off-road vehicle or heavy equipment fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 4 | $10,000 | Off-road vehicle or heavy equipment fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 5 | $10,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 6 | $7,500 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 7 | $1,500 | Cooking fire, confined to container | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Caldwell sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 1,546 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2013 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 150 | 43.9 mi | |
| 2012 | Equipment and vehicle use | 147 | 41.1 mi | |
| 2019 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 100 | 22.8 mi | |
| 2014 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 100 | 34.0 mi | |
| 2013 | Recreation and ceremony | 75 | 23.2 mi | |
| 2014 | Equipment and vehicle use | 70 | 32.9 mi | |
| 1996 | Arson/incendiarism | 60 | 36.3 mi | |
| 2020 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 60 | 5.0 mi | |
| 2001 | Arson/incendiarism | 55 | 24.9 mi | |
| 2013 | Power generation/transmission/distribution | 53 | 40.4 mi | |
| 2015 | Debris and open burning | 50 | 49.0 mi | |
| 2015 | Debris and open burning | 50 | 34.1 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 | 43724 | 140 |
Six Ohio cities with population within ±25% of Caldwell. 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.