In 2025, fire departments serving Cleveland responded to 68 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $180K building blaze. Here's the full picture.
Grass fire lead by count. Building fires lead by dollars. Together the top five categories make up about 84% of all calls.
Mar peaks. Jul dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
370 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2024. $938K cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 55 | — | |
| 2022 | 71 | +29.1% | |
| 2023 | 80 | +12.7% | |
| 2024 | 96 | +20.0% | |
| 2025 | 68 | -29.2% |
For the 14 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 53 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 | 21 | 39.6% | |
| 2 | Cooking area, kitchen | 3 | 5.7% | |
| 3 | Wall surface: exterior | 3 | 5.7% | |
| 4 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 3 | 5.7% | |
| 5 | Wildland, woods | 3 | 5.7% | |
| 6 | Cargo/trunk area - all vehicles | 2 | 3.8% | |
| 7 | Outside area, other | 2 | 3.8% | |
| 8 | Other | 1 | 1.9% | |
| 9 | Common room, den, family room, living room, lounge | 1 | 1.9% | |
| 10 | Function area, other | 1 | 1.9% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 13 | 24.5% |
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 | 38 | 71.7% | |
| 2 | Arcing | 3 | 5.7% | |
| 3 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 2 | 3.8% | |
| 4 | Hot ember or ash | 2 | 3.8% | |
| 5 | Conducted heat from another fire | 2 | 3.8% | |
| 6 | Heat source: other | 1 | 1.9% | |
| 7 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 1 | 1.9% | |
| 8 | Heat from other open flame or smoking materials | 1 | 1.9% | |
| 9 | Match | 1 | 1.9% | |
| 10 | Lightning | 1 | 1.9% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 1 | 1.9% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Cleveland departments in 2025. These 8 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $180,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 2 | $100,000 | Road freight or transport vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $90,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 4 | $75,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 5 | $60,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 6 | $50,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 7 | $20,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 8 | $1,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Cleveland sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
5 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 | 0 | |
| 20-29 | 1 | |
| 30-39 | 3 | |
| 40-49 | 0 | |
| 50-59 | 0 | |
| 60-69 | 0 | |
| 70-79 | 1 | |
| 80+ | 0 |
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 301,488 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2012 | Smoking | 58,501 | 23.8 mi | |
| 2015 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 22,787 | 48.0 mi | |
| 2018 | Power generation/transmission/distribution | 20,307 | 34.4 mi | |
| 2014 | Debris and open burning | 17,683 | 21.5 mi | |
| 2014 | Debris and open burning | 14,910 | 14.0 mi | |
| 2016 | Arson/incendiarism | 12,468 | 44.6 mi | |
| 2011 | Debris and open burning | 11,382 | 18.2 mi | |
| 2016 | Arson/incendiarism | 11,258 | 34.8 mi | |
| 2018 | Power generation/transmission/distribution | 10,816 | 9.4 mi | |
| 2009 | Debris and open burning | 10,216 | 9.3 mi | |
| 2017 | Arson/incendiarism | 9,636 | 9.6 mi | |
| 2014 | Debris and open burning | 9,077 | 47.2 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 Oklahoma 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.