In 2025, fire departments serving Cleveland responded to 23 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $5K building blaze. Here's the full picture.
Carbon monoxide incident lead by count. Building fires lead by dollars. Together the top five categories make up about 69% of all calls.
Apr peaks. May dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
152 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2024. $297K cumulative property loss. 1 civilian deaths.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 37 | — | |
| 2022 | 27 | -27.0% | |
| 2023 | 20 | -25.9% | |
| 2024 | 45 | +125.0% | |
| 2025 | 23 | -48.9% |
For the 3 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 32 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 | 14 | 43.8% | |
| 2 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 5 | 15.6% | |
| 3 | Undetermined | 5 | 15.6% | |
| 4 | Cooking area, kitchen | 1 | 3.1% | |
| 5 | Bathroom, checkroom, lavatory, locker room | 1 | 3.1% | |
| 6 | Storage area, other | 1 | 3.1% | |
| 7 | Vehicle storage area; garage, carport | 1 | 3.1% | |
| 8 | Substructure area or space, crawl space | 1 | 3.1% | |
| 9 | Wall surface: exterior | 1 | 3.1% | |
| 10 | Roof surface: exterior | 1 | 3.1% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 1 | 3.1% |
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 | 14 | 43.8% | |
| 2 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 3 | 9.4% | |
| 3 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 2 | 6.2% | |
| 4 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 2 | 6.2% | |
| 5 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 2 | 6.2% | |
| 6 | Hot ember or ash | 2 | 6.2% | |
| 7 | Flying brand, ember, spark | 2 | 6.2% | |
| 8 | Arcing | 1 | 3.1% | |
| 9 | Heat, spark from friction | 1 | 3.1% | |
| 10 | Cigarette lighter | 1 | 3.1% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 2 | 6.2% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Cleveland departments in 2025. These 1 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $4,500 | Passenger vehicle 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. 2,521 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 | 508 | 38.4 mi | |
| 2003 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 400 | 45.4 mi | |
| 2015 | Railroad operations and maintenance | 366 | 49.0 mi | |
| 2002 | Arson/incendiarism | 325 | 49.3 mi | |
| 1997 | Debris and open burning | 130 | 49.1 mi | |
| 1994 | Arson/incendiarism | 85 | 15.0 mi | |
| 2006 | Debris and open burning | 75 | 49.5 mi | |
| 2005 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 57 | 42.5 mi | |
| 2015 | Equipment and vehicle use | 56 | 22.9 mi | |
| 2019 | Debris and open burning | 50 | 38.5 mi | |
| 2006 | Debris and open burning | 46 | 45.7 mi | |
| 1999 | Arson/incendiarism | 42 | 42.5 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 Wisconsin cities with population within ±25% of Cleveland. 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.