In 2025, fire departments serving Canal Fulton responded to 62 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $200K 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 73% of all calls.
Apr peaks. Jun dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
384 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2023. $874K cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 73 | — | |
| 2022 | 76 | +4.1% | |
| 2023 | 88 | +15.8% | |
| 2024 | 85 | -3.4% | |
| 2025 | 62 | -27.1% |
For the 4 building fires Canal Fulton departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 80 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 | 24 | 30.0% | |
| 2 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 11 | 13.8% | |
| 3 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 7 | 8.8% | |
| 4 | Cooking area, kitchen | 5 | 6.2% | |
| 5 | Wildland, woods | 4 | 5.0% | |
| 6 | Chute/container - trash, rubbish, waste | 3 | 3.8% | |
| 7 | Highway, parking lot, street: on or near | 3 | 3.8% | |
| 8 | Bedroom - < 5 persons; included are jail or prison | 2 | 2.5% | |
| 9 | Vehicle storage area; garage, carport | 2 | 2.5% | |
| 10 | Wall surface: exterior | 2 | 2.5% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 17 | 21.2% |
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 Canal Fulton mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 43 | 53.8% | |
| 2 | Arcing | 8 | 10.0% | |
| 3 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 5 | 6.2% | |
| 4 | Heat source: other | 3 | 3.8% | |
| 5 | Hot ember or ash | 3 | 3.8% | |
| 6 | Heat, spark from friction | 2 | 2.5% | |
| 7 | Molten, hot material | 2 | 2.5% | |
| 8 | Cigarette | 2 | 2.5% | |
| 9 | Match | 2 | 2.5% | |
| 10 | Heat from direct flame, convection currents | 2 | 2.5% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 8 | 10.0% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Canal Fulton departments in 2025. These 4 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $200,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 2 | $15,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $4,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 4 | $3,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Canal Fulton sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 1,204 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 | 29.4 mi | |
| 2015 | Debris and open burning | 171 | 40.3 mi | |
| 2013 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 150 | 48.3 mi | |
| 2014 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 100 | 45.9 mi | |
| 2003 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 78 | 39.1 mi | |
| 2014 | Debris and open burning | 60 | 27.7 mi | |
| 2014 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 50 | 45.4 mi | |
| 2014 | Debris and open burning | 35 | 49.6 mi | |
| 2015 | Arson/incendiarism | 35 | 35.3 mi | |
| 2005 | Debris and open burning | 30 | 38.8 mi | |
| 2014 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 30 | 47.5 mi | |
| 2005 | Debris and open burning | 30 | 14.2 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 | 44614 | 384 |
Six Ohio cities with population within ±25% of Canal Fulton. 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.