In 2025, fire departments serving Deshler responded to 22 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $100K 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 82% of all calls.
Feb peaks. Jul dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
108 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2024. $1.2M cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 20 | — | |
| 2022 | 15 | -25.0% | |
| 2023 | 15 | +0.0% | |
| 2024 | 36 | +140.0% | |
| 2025 | 22 | -38.9% |
For the 12 building fires Deshler departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 48 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 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 15 | 31.2% | |
| 2 | Undetermined | 9 | 18.8% | |
| 3 | Vehicle storage area; garage, carport | 4 | 8.3% | |
| 4 | Other | 2 | 4.2% | |
| 5 | Storage: supplies or tools; dead storage | 2 | 4.2% | |
| 6 | Ceiling & floor assembly, crawl space b/t stories | 2 | 4.2% | |
| 7 | Attic: vacant, crawl space above top story, cupola | 2 | 4.2% | |
| 8 | Wall assembly | 2 | 4.2% | |
| 9 | Exterior stairway, ramp, or fire escape | 1 | 2.1% | |
| 10 | Bedroom - < 5 persons; included are jail or prison | 1 | 2.1% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 8 | 16.7% |
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 Deshler mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 20 | 41.7% | |
| 2 | Hot ember or ash | 7 | 14.6% | |
| 3 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 4 | 8.3% | |
| 4 | Flame/torch used for lighting | 4 | 8.3% | |
| 5 | Heat source: other | 2 | 4.2% | |
| 6 | Arcing | 2 | 4.2% | |
| 7 | Heat from other open flame or smoking materials | 2 | 4.2% | |
| 8 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 1 | 2.1% | |
| 9 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 1 | 2.1% | |
| 10 | Heat, spark from friction | 1 | 2.1% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 4 | 8.3% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Deshler departments in 2025. These 6 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $100,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 2 | $30,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $20,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 4 | $15,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 5 | $12,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 6 | $3,030 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Deshler sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 15 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 308 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010 | Arson/incendiarism | 69 | 43.2 mi | |
| 2019 | Debris and open burning | 58 | 11.8 mi | |
| 2019 | Debris and open burning | 40 | 46.8 mi | |
| 2017 | Debris and open burning | 22 | 29.5 mi | |
| 2011 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 16 | 33.7 mi | |
| 2019 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 12 | 44.8 mi | |
| 2015 | Debris and open burning | 11 | 23.8 mi | |
| 2018 | Equipment and vehicle use | 10 | 46.2 mi | |
| 2019 | Equipment and vehicle use | 10 | 45.6 mi | |
| 2019 | Debris and open burning | 10 | 12.2 mi | |
| 2013 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 10 | 46.5 mi | |
| 2015 | Debris and open burning | 10 | 21.9 mi |
Top 3 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 Deshler. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
1 departments report to NFIRS for incidents in Deshler.
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.