In 2025, fire departments serving Chardon responded to 86 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $6K 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.
Mar peaks. Aug dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
564 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2021. $869K cumulative property loss. 1 civilian deaths.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 139 | — | |
| 2022 | 98 | -29.5% | |
| 2023 | 102 | +4.1% | |
| 2024 | 139 | +36.3% | |
| 2025 | 86 | -38.1% |
For the 12 building fires Chardon departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 97 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 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 20 | 20.6% | |
| 2 | Cooking area, kitchen | 15 | 15.5% | |
| 3 | Outside area, other | 10 | 10.3% | |
| 4 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 8 | 8.2% | |
| 5 | Undetermined | 7 | 7.2% | |
| 6 | Courtyard, patio, porch, terrace | 5 | 5.2% | |
| 7 | Highway, parking lot, street: on or near | 4 | 4.1% | |
| 8 | Wildland, woods | 4 | 4.1% | |
| 9 | Other | 3 | 3.1% | |
| 10 | Bedroom - < 5 persons; included are jail or prison | 3 | 3.1% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 18 | 18.6% |
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 Chardon mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 24 | 24.7% | |
| 2 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 19 | 19.6% | |
| 3 | Hot ember or ash | 11 | 11.3% | |
| 4 | Chemical reaction | 8 | 8.2% | |
| 5 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 6 | 6.2% | |
| 6 | Match | 6 | 6.2% | |
| 7 | Cigarette lighter | 5 | 5.2% | |
| 8 | Flame/torch used for lighting | 4 | 4.1% | |
| 9 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 3 | 3.1% | |
| 10 | Heat source: other | 2 | 2.1% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 9 | 9.3% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Chardon departments in 2025. These 4 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $5,700 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 2 | $1,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $1,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 4 | $1,000 | Chimney or flue fire, confined to chimney or flue | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Chardon sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 2 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 420 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2003 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 400 | 10.1 mi | |
| 2002 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 20 | 10.7 mi |
Top 4 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 Chardon. 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.