In 2025, fire departments serving Castalia responded to 18 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $3K building blaze. Here's the full picture.
Chimney or flue fire, confined to chimney or flue lead by count. Building fires lead by dollars. Together the top five categories make up about 56% of all calls.
Jun peaks. Feb dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
106 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2022. $223K cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 20 | — | |
| 2022 | 30 | +50.0% | |
| 2023 | 20 | -33.3% | |
| 2024 | 18 | -10.0% | |
| 2025 | 18 | +0.0% |
For the 0 building fires Castalia departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 23 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 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 6 | 26.1% | |
| 2 | Undetermined | 5 | 21.7% | |
| 3 | Operator/passenger area of transportation equip. | 3 | 13.0% | |
| 4 | Other | 2 | 8.7% | |
| 5 | Outside area, other | 2 | 8.7% | |
| 6 | Vehicle storage area; garage, carport | 1 | 4.3% | |
| 7 | Vehicle area, other | 1 | 4.3% | |
| 8 | Exterior, exposed surface | 1 | 4.3% | |
| 9 | Railroad right of way: on or near | 1 | 4.3% | |
| 10 | Wildland, woods | 1 | 4.3% |
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 Castalia mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 15 | 65.2% | |
| 2 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 3 | 13.0% | |
| 3 | Arcing | 1 | 4.3% | |
| 4 | Hot ember or ash | 1 | 4.3% | |
| 5 | Heat from undetermined smoking material | 1 | 4.3% | |
| 6 | Lightning | 1 | 4.3% | |
| 7 | Flying brand, ember, spark | 1 | 4.3% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Castalia departments in 2025. These 3 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $2,500 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 2 | $2,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $50 | Trash or rubbish fire, contained | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Castalia sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 9 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 501 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2019 | Debris and open burning | 300 | 47.3 mi | |
| 2010 | Arson/incendiarism | 69 | 41.9 mi | |
| 2010 | Arson/incendiarism | 42 | 48.7 mi | |
| 2019 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 20 | 39.9 mi | |
| 2020 | Debris and open burning | 20 | 35.5 mi | |
| 2020 | Debris and open burning | 20 | 45.2 mi | |
| 2020 | Debris and open burning | 10 | 45.1 mi | |
| 2013 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 10 | 15.4 mi | |
| 2019 | Equipment and vehicle use | 10 | 48.5 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 Castalia. 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.