In 2025, fire departments serving Columbus responded to 92 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $120K 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 69% of all calls.
Jan peaks. Apr dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
336 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2025. $725K cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 51 | — | |
| 2022 | 54 | +5.9% | |
| 2023 | 79 | +46.3% | |
| 2024 | 60 | -24.1% | |
| 2025 | 92 | +53.3% |
For the 21 building fires Columbus departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 79 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 | 21 | 26.6% | |
| 2 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 9 | 11.4% | |
| 3 | Undetermined | 8 | 10.1% | |
| 4 | Outside area, other | 6 | 7.6% | |
| 5 | Cooking area, kitchen | 3 | 3.8% | |
| 6 | Chute/container - trash, rubbish, waste | 3 | 3.8% | |
| 7 | Vehicle storage area; garage, carport | 3 | 3.8% | |
| 8 | Highway, parking lot, street: on or near | 3 | 3.8% | |
| 9 | Bathroom, checkroom, lavatory, locker room | 2 | 2.5% | |
| 10 | Processing/manufacturing area, workroom | 2 | 2.5% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 19 | 24.1% |
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 Columbus mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 25 | 31.6% | |
| 2 | Hot ember or ash | 11 | 13.9% | |
| 3 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 9 | 11.4% | |
| 4 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 7 | 8.9% | |
| 5 | Heat source: other | 4 | 5.1% | |
| 6 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 4 | 5.1% | |
| 7 | Arcing | 3 | 3.8% | |
| 8 | Cigarette | 3 | 3.8% | |
| 9 | Flame/torch used for lighting | 3 | 3.8% | |
| 10 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 2 | 2.5% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 8 | 10.1% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Columbus departments in 2025. These 8 fires alone account for 99% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $120,000 | Forest, woods or wildland fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 2 | $120,000 | Forest, woods or wildland fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $45,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 4 | $36,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 5 | $5,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 6 | $4,800 | Grass fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 7 | $2,500 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 8 | $1,500 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Columbus sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 11,454 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | Equipment and vehicle use | 1,100 | 42.8 mi | |
| 2003 | Arson/incendiarism | 1,100 | 11.3 mi | |
| 1994 | Arson/incendiarism | 1,015 | 23.7 mi | |
| 2014 | Debris and open burning | 829 | 29.3 mi | |
| 1998 | Equipment and vehicle use | 630 | 29.6 mi | |
| 2006 | Debris and open burning | 612 | 21.1 mi | |
| 1999 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 580 | 43.1 mi | |
| 2003 | Debris and open burning | 572 | 46.3 mi | |
| 2003 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 508 | 40.5 mi | |
| 2003 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 500 | 20.5 mi | |
| 2003 | Arson/incendiarism | 484 | 16.4 mi | |
| 2014 | Debris and open burning | 364 | 21.5 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 Columbus. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
1 departments report to NFIRS for incidents in Columbus.
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.