In 2025, fire departments serving Chillicothe responded to 441 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $350K 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 50% of all calls.
Mar peaks. Dec dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
2,476 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2024. $14.1M cumulative property loss. 5 civilian deaths.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 439 | — | |
| 2022 | 526 | +19.8% | |
| 2023 | 480 | -8.7% | |
| 2024 | 590 | +22.9% | |
| 2025 | 441 | -25.3% |
For the 119 building fires Chillicothe departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 842 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 | 164 | 19.5% | |
| 2 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 107 | 12.7% | |
| 3 | Outside area, other | 95 | 11.3% | |
| 4 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 94 | 11.2% | |
| 5 | Other | 59 | 7.0% | |
| 6 | Cooking area, kitchen | 32 | 3.8% | |
| 7 | Wildland, woods | 26 | 3.1% | |
| 8 | Vehicle storage area; garage, carport | 22 | 2.6% | |
| 9 | Bedroom - < 5 persons; included are jail or prison | 20 | 2.4% | |
| 10 | Vehicle area, other | 18 | 2.1% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 205 | 24.3% |
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 Chillicothe mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 403 | 47.9% | |
| 2 | Hot ember or ash | 75 | 8.9% | |
| 3 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 58 | 6.9% | |
| 4 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 56 | 6.7% | |
| 5 | Arcing | 54 | 6.4% | |
| 6 | Heat source: other | 26 | 3.1% | |
| 7 | Cigarette lighter | 26 | 3.1% | |
| 8 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 19 | 2.3% | |
| 9 | Heat from other open flame or smoking materials | 17 | 2.0% | |
| 10 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 15 | 1.8% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 93 | 11.0% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Chillicothe departments in 2025. These 8 fires alone account for 53% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $350,000 | Building fires | Major | Investigated |
| 2 | $300,000 | Building fires | Major | Investigated |
| 3 | $300,000 | Building fires | Major | Investigated |
| 4 | $150,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 5 | $120,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 6 | $100,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 7 | $100,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 8 | $100,000 | Fires in structures other than in a building | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Chillicothe sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
13 fire-related casualties recorded in NFIRS Module 11 across the 2021–2025 window. Age, gender, and severity are coarse-binned — no individual identification possible.
| Age | Count | |
|---|---|---|
| 0-9 | 0 | |
| 10-19 | 1 | |
| 20-29 | 1 | |
| 30-39 | 0 | |
| 40-49 | 3 | |
| 50-59 | 0 | |
| 60-69 | 1 | |
| 70-79 | 1 | |
| 80+ | 0 |
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 9,348 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2009 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 2,865 | 46.5 mi | |
| 2003 | Debris and open burning | 1,016 | 37.1 mi | |
| 2016 | Debris and open burning | 476 | 43.0 mi | |
| 2002 | Debris and open burning | 450 | 45.9 mi | |
| 2000 | Recreation and ceremony | 400 | 43.7 mi | |
| 2017 | Arson/incendiarism | 390 | 50.0 mi | |
| 2010 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 355 | 13.1 mi | |
| 2005 | Equipment and vehicle use | 303 | 47.0 mi | |
| 2001 | Arson/incendiarism | 300 | 42.3 mi | |
| 2016 | Debris and open burning | 290 | 43.2 mi | |
| 2013 | Arson/incendiarism | 280 | 18.2 mi | |
| 2005 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 200 | 49.9 mi |
Top 8 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 Chillicothe. 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.