In 2025, fire departments serving Elmore responded to 15 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $150K 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 93% of all calls.
Jul peaks. Jan dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
111 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2022. $707K cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 15 | — | |
| 2022 | 31 | +106.7% | |
| 2023 | 25 | -19.4% | |
| 2024 | 25 | +0.0% | |
| 2025 | 15 | -40.0% |
For the 8 building fires Elmore departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 31 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 | 7 | 22.6% | |
| 2 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 5 | 16.1% | |
| 3 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 4 | 12.9% | |
| 4 | Vehicle storage area; garage, carport | 2 | 6.5% | |
| 5 | Wall surface: exterior | 2 | 6.5% | |
| 6 | Wildland, woods | 2 | 6.5% | |
| 7 | Storage: supplies or tools; dead storage | 1 | 3.2% | |
| 8 | Conduit, pipe, utility, or ventilation shaft | 1 | 3.2% | |
| 9 | Equipment or service area, other | 1 | 3.2% | |
| 10 | Incinerator area | 1 | 3.2% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 5 | 16.1% |
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 Elmore mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 14 | 45.2% | |
| 2 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 6 | 19.4% | |
| 3 | Heat, spark from friction | 3 | 9.7% | |
| 4 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 2 | 6.5% | |
| 5 | Hot ember or ash | 2 | 6.5% | |
| 6 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 1 | 3.2% | |
| 7 | Cigarette lighter | 1 | 3.2% | |
| 8 | Chemical reaction | 1 | 3.2% | |
| 9 | Conducted heat from another fire | 1 | 3.2% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Elmore departments in 2025. These 2 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $150,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 2 | $50,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Elmore sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 17 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 765 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2019 | Debris and open burning | 300 | 37.4 mi | |
| 2019 | Equipment and vehicle use | 80 | 35.8 mi | |
| 2005 | Debris and open burning | 77 | 42.8 mi | |
| 2010 | Arson/incendiarism | 69 | 21.1 mi | |
| 2019 | Debris and open burning | 58 | 46.8 mi | |
| 2010 | Arson/incendiarism | 42 | 39.8 mi | |
| 2017 | Debris and open burning | 22 | 27.8 mi | |
| 2005 | Debris and open burning | 20 | 48.0 mi | |
| 2011 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 16 | 46.2 mi | |
| 2015 | Debris and open burning | 11 | 34.3 mi | |
| 2019 | Debris and open burning | 10 | 48.3 mi | |
| 2013 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 10 | 10.6 mi |
Top 2 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 Elmore. 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.