In 2025, fire departments serving Carrollton responded to 97 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $200K 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 57% of all calls.
Nov peaks. Aug dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
546 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2023. $2.2M cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 96 | — | |
| 2022 | 104 | +8.3% | |
| 2023 | 141 | +35.6% | |
| 2024 | 108 | -23.4% | |
| 2025 | 97 | -10.2% |
For the 20 building fires Carrollton departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 119 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 | 27 | 22.7% | |
| 2 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 14 | 11.8% | |
| 3 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 13 | 10.9% | |
| 4 | Wildland, woods | 10 | 8.4% | |
| 5 | Vehicle storage area; garage, carport | 7 | 5.9% | |
| 6 | Cooking area, kitchen | 6 | 5.0% | |
| 7 | Exterior, exposed surface | 6 | 5.0% | |
| 8 | Outside area, other | 5 | 4.2% | |
| 9 | Highway, parking lot, street: on or near | 4 | 3.4% | |
| 10 | Conduit, pipe, utility, or ventilation shaft | 3 | 2.5% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 24 | 20.2% |
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 Carrollton mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 55 | 46.2% | |
| 2 | Arcing | 13 | 10.9% | |
| 3 | Hot ember or ash | 7 | 5.9% | |
| 4 | Radiated heat from another fire | 7 | 5.9% | |
| 5 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 6 | 5.0% | |
| 6 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 6 | 5.0% | |
| 7 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 5 | 4.2% | |
| 8 | Flying brand, ember, spark | 4 | 3.4% | |
| 9 | Molten, hot material | 3 | 2.5% | |
| 10 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 2 | 1.7% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 11 | 9.2% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Carrollton departments in 2025. These 8 fires alone account for 96% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $200,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 2 | $70,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $60,000 | Off-road vehicle or heavy equipment fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 4 | $40,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 5 | $30,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 6 | $15,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 7 | $10,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 8 | $10,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Carrollton sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 1,240 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 | 5.5 mi | |
| 2013 | Debris and open burning | 106 | 46.9 mi | |
| 2019 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 100 | 47.7 mi | |
| 2014 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 100 | 38.3 mi | |
| 2003 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 78 | 17.8 mi | |
| 2013 | Recreation and ceremony | 75 | 47.1 mi | |
| 2014 | Debris and open burning | 60 | 7.0 mi | |
| 2014 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 50 | 39.8 mi | |
| 2014 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 49 | 49.1 mi | |
| 1992 | Arson/incendiarism | 48 | 33.5 mi | |
| 2014 | Debris and open burning | 40 | 47.7 mi | |
| 2015 | Arson/incendiarism | 35 | 10.7 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 Carrollton. 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.