In 2025, fire departments serving Cleveland responded to 24 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $40K building blaze. Here's the full picture.
Power line down lead by count. Building fires lead by dollars. Together the top five categories make up about 75% of all calls.
Feb peaks. Jul dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
73 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2025. $657K cumulative property loss. 2 civilian deaths.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021* | 5 | — | |
| 2022 | 18 | — | |
| 2023 | 16 | -11.1% | |
| 2024 | 10 | -37.5% | |
| 2025 | 24 | +140.0% |
* Well below Cleveland's usual volume. That almost always means one or more departments didn't submit a full year to NFIRS, not that fires dropped, so no year-over-year change is shown for it.
For the 2 building fires Cleveland departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 31 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 | 8 | 25.8% | |
| 2 | Outside area, other | 5 | 16.1% | |
| 3 | Wildland, woods | 4 | 12.9% | |
| 4 | Substructure area or space, crawl space | 3 | 9.7% | |
| 5 | Other | 2 | 6.5% | |
| 6 | Bedroom - < 5 persons; included are jail or prison | 1 | 3.2% | |
| 7 | Cooking area, kitchen | 1 | 3.2% | |
| 8 | Vehicle storage area; garage, carport | 1 | 3.2% | |
| 9 | Roof surface: exterior | 1 | 3.2% | |
| 10 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 1 | 3.2% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 4 | 12.9% |
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 Cleveland mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 12 | 38.7% | |
| 2 | Arcing | 3 | 9.7% | |
| 3 | Cigarette lighter | 3 | 9.7% | |
| 4 | Heat source: other | 2 | 6.5% | |
| 5 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 2 | 6.5% | |
| 6 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 2 | 6.5% | |
| 7 | Multiple heat sources including multiple ignitions | 2 | 6.5% | |
| 8 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 1 | 3.2% | |
| 9 | Hot ember or ash | 1 | 3.2% | |
| 10 | Match | 1 | 3.2% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 2 | 6.5% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Cleveland departments in 2025. These 6 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $40,000 | Off-road vehicle or heavy equipment fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 2 | $5,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $4,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 4 | $300 | Grass fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 5 | $100 | Forest, woods or wildland fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 6 | $100 | Forest, woods or wildland fire | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Cleveland sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 23,948 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2011 | Debris and open burning | 2,950 | 50.0 mi | |
| 2014 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 2,500 | 44.0 mi | |
| 2000 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 1,636 | 44.8 mi | |
| 1996 | Recreation and ceremony | 1,540 | 34.8 mi | |
| 2016 | Arson/incendiarism | 1,308 | 27.5 mi | |
| 2011 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 1,163 | 48.3 mi | |
| 2000 | Natural | 1,100 | 41.6 mi | |
| 1996 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 1,078 | 48.5 mi | |
| 2011 | Arson/incendiarism | 919 | 34.5 mi | |
| 1999 | Arson/incendiarism | 890 | 20.7 mi | |
| 2016 | Equipment and vehicle use | 800 | 43.2 mi | |
| 1998 | Arson/incendiarism | 700 | 40.1 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 Alabama cities with population within ±25% of Cleveland. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
2 departments report to NFIRS for incidents in Cleveland.
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.