In 2025, fire departments serving Dover responded to 134 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $25K 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 61% of all calls.
Mar peaks. Jun dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
761 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2024. $91.3M cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 146 | — | |
| 2022 | 138 | -5.5% | |
| 2023 | 162 | +17.4% | |
| 2024 | 181 | +11.7% | |
| 2025 | 134 | -26.0% |
For the 19 building fires Dover departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 226 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 | 55 | 24.3% | |
| 2 | Cooking area, kitchen | 30 | 13.3% | |
| 3 | Outside area, other | 27 | 11.9% | |
| 4 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 19 | 8.4% | |
| 5 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 19 | 8.4% | |
| 6 | Highway, parking lot, street: on or near | 6 | 2.7% | |
| 7 | Wildland, woods | 6 | 2.7% | |
| 8 | Laundry area, wash house (laundry) | 5 | 2.2% | |
| 9 | Vehicle area, other | 5 | 2.2% | |
| 10 | Courtyard, patio, porch, terrace | 5 | 2.2% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 49 | 21.7% |
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 Dover mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 117 | 51.8% | |
| 2 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 24 | 10.6% | |
| 3 | Arcing | 13 | 5.8% | |
| 4 | Hot ember or ash | 10 | 4.4% | |
| 5 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 9 | 4.0% | |
| 6 | Heat source: other | 8 | 3.5% | |
| 7 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 6 | 2.7% | |
| 8 | Cigarette lighter | 6 | 2.7% | |
| 9 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 4 | 1.8% | |
| 10 | Cigarette | 4 | 1.8% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 25 | 11.1% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Dover departments in 2025. These 8 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $25,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 2 | $20,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $12,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 4 | $6,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 5 | $6,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 6 | $3,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 7 | $3,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 8 | $500 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Dover sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 1,425 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2014 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 175 | 15.4 mi | |
| 2015 | Debris and open burning | 171 | 45.2 mi | |
| 2013 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 150 | 32.8 mi | |
| 2019 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 100 | 48.2 mi | |
| 2014 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 100 | 22.8 mi | |
| 2003 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 78 | 36.5 mi | |
| 2013 | Recreation and ceremony | 75 | 34.0 mi | |
| 2014 | Debris and open burning | 60 | 14.5 mi | |
| 2014 | Debris and open burning | 50 | 42.9 mi | |
| 2014 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 50 | 23.3 mi | |
| 2014 | Debris and open burning | 35 | 34.2 mi | |
| 2015 | Arson/incendiarism | 35 | 29.6 mi |
Top 5 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 Dover. 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.