In 2025, fire departments serving Carey responded to 32 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 62% of all calls.
Aug peaks. Jan dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
217 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2024. $521K cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 29 | — | |
| 2022 | 44 | +51.7% | |
| 2023 | 48 | +9.1% | |
| 2024 | 64 | +33.3% | |
| 2025 | 32 | -50.0% |
For the 9 building fires Carey departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 74 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 | 17 | 23.0% | |
| 2 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 10 | 13.5% | |
| 3 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 7 | 9.5% | |
| 4 | Outside area, other | 5 | 6.8% | |
| 5 | Vehicle area, other | 4 | 5.4% | |
| 6 | Cooking area, kitchen | 2 | 2.7% | |
| 7 | Processing/manufacturing area, workroom | 2 | 2.7% | |
| 8 | Storage area, other | 2 | 2.7% | |
| 9 | Chute/container - trash, rubbish, waste | 2 | 2.7% | |
| 10 | Vehicle storage area; garage, carport | 2 | 2.7% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 21 | 28.4% |
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 Carey mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 45 | 60.8% | |
| 2 | Arcing | 4 | 5.4% | |
| 3 | Hot ember or ash | 4 | 5.4% | |
| 4 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 3 | 4.1% | |
| 5 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 3 | 4.1% | |
| 6 | Heat, spark from friction | 3 | 4.1% | |
| 7 | Heat spread from another fire, other | 3 | 4.1% | |
| 8 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 2 | 2.7% | |
| 9 | Heat from other open flame or smoking materials | 2 | 2.7% | |
| 10 | Heat source: other | 1 | 1.4% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 4 | 5.4% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Carey departments in 2025. These 4 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $40,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 2 | $30,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $10,000 | Fire in mobile home used as fixed residence | Significant | Investigated |
| 4 | $2,000 | Road freight or transport vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Carey sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 6 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 430 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 | 21.6 mi | |
| 2019 | Debris and open burning | 58 | 43.3 mi | |
| 2019 | Debris and open burning | 10 | 42.4 mi | |
| 2013 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 10 | 39.9 mi | |
| 2015 | Debris and open burning | 10 | 47.9 mi | |
| 2016 | Debris and open burning | 10 | 49.8 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 Carey. 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.