In 2025, fire departments serving Fort Recovery responded to 27 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $75K 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 59% of all calls.
Oct peaks. Feb dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
190 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2023. $805K cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 36 | — | |
| 2022 | 41 | +13.9% | |
| 2023 | 51 | +24.4% | |
| 2024 | 35 | -31.4% | |
| 2025 | 27 | -22.9% |
For the 6 building fires Fort Recovery departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 91 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 | 27 | 29.7% | |
| 2 | Outside area, other | 14 | 15.4% | |
| 3 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 11 | 12.1% | |
| 4 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 8 | 8.8% | |
| 5 | Storage area, other | 3 | 3.3% | |
| 6 | Structural area, other | 3 | 3.3% | |
| 7 | Attic: vacant, crawl space above top story, cupola | 3 | 3.3% | |
| 8 | Cooking area, kitchen | 2 | 2.2% | |
| 9 | Processing/manufacturing area, workroom | 2 | 2.2% | |
| 10 | Vehicle storage area; garage, carport | 2 | 2.2% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 16 | 17.6% |
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 Fort Recovery mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 43 | 47.3% | |
| 2 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 12 | 13.2% | |
| 3 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 8 | 8.8% | |
| 4 | Flying brand, ember, spark | 7 | 7.7% | |
| 5 | Arcing | 5 | 5.5% | |
| 6 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 3 | 3.3% | |
| 7 | Hot ember or ash | 3 | 3.3% | |
| 8 | Heat spread from another fire, other | 3 | 3.3% | |
| 9 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 2 | 2.2% | |
| 10 | Heat from other open flame or smoking materials | 1 | 1.1% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 4 | 4.4% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Fort Recovery departments in 2025. These 6 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $75,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 2 | $70,000 | Mobile property (vehicle) fire, other | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $50,000 | Fire, other | Significant | Investigated |
| 4 | $10,000 | Cultivated grain or crop fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 5 | $3,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 6 | $2,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Fort Recovery sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 3 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 80 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2006 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 50 | 43.6 mi | |
| 2005 | Recreation and ceremony | 20 | 40.0 mi | |
| 2003 | Debris and open burning | 10 | 29.8 mi |
Top 1 ZIP codes by NFIRS incident count across 2021–2025. Each ZIP has its own fire profile — dive in for neighborhood-level context.
| # | ZIP | 5-yr incidents | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 45846 | 190 |
Six Ohio cities with population within ±25% of Fort Recovery. 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.