In 2025, fire departments serving Canal Winchester responded to 71 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $435K 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 56% of all calls.
Nov peaks. Dec dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
566 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2022. $2.7M cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 119 | — | |
| 2022 | 179 | +50.4% | |
| 2023 | 94 | -47.5% | |
| 2024 | 103 | +9.6% | |
| 2025 | 71 | -31.1% |
For the 12 building fires Canal Winchester departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 133 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 | Highway, parking lot, street: on or near | 23 | 17.3% | |
| 2 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 18 | 13.5% | |
| 3 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 17 | 12.8% | |
| 4 | Undetermined | 16 | 12.0% | |
| 5 | Cooking area, kitchen | 12 | 9.0% | |
| 6 | Exterior balcony, unenclosed porch | 6 | 4.5% | |
| 7 | Exterior, exposed surface | 5 | 3.8% | |
| 8 | Operator/passenger area of transportation equip. | 4 | 3.0% | |
| 9 | Wildland, woods | 4 | 3.0% | |
| 10 | Chute/container - trash, rubbish, waste | 3 | 2.3% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 25 | 18.8% |
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 Winchester mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 65 | 48.9% | |
| 2 | Hot ember or ash | 13 | 9.8% | |
| 3 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 6 | 4.5% | |
| 4 | Arcing | 6 | 4.5% | |
| 5 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 6 | 4.5% | |
| 6 | Cigarette | 5 | 3.8% | |
| 7 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 4 | 3.0% | |
| 8 | Heat spread from another fire, other | 4 | 3.0% | |
| 9 | Heat from other open flame or smoking materials | 3 | 2.3% | |
| 10 | Flame/torch used for lighting | 3 | 2.3% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 18 | 13.5% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Canal Winchester departments in 2025. These 8 fires alone account for 99% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $435,000 | Building fires | Major | Investigated |
| 2 | $50,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $20,000 | Outside gas or vapor combustion explosion | Significant | Investigated |
| 4 | $15,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 5 | $12,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 6 | $10,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 7 | $7,400 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 8 | $5,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Canal Winchester sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 1,675 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 355 | 32.0 mi | |
| 2013 | Arson/incendiarism | 280 | 36.0 mi | |
| 2015 | Power generation/transmission/distribution | 131 | 43.9 mi | |
| 2012 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 100 | 47.8 mi | |
| 2010 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 90 | 41.0 mi | |
| 2013 | Power generation/transmission/distribution | 53 | 38.5 mi | |
| 2020 | Debris and open burning | 50 | 48.5 mi | |
| 2015 | Debris and open burning | 50 | 20.6 mi | |
| 2015 | Debris and open burning | 50 | 35.2 mi | |
| 2015 | Arson/incendiarism | 50 | 39.9 mi | |
| 2014 | Debris and open burning | 50 | 42.7 mi | |
| 2010 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 46 | 40.0 mi |
Top 3 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 Canal Winchester. 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.