In 2025, fire departments serving Fostoria responded to 23 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $65K 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 91% of all calls.
Aug peaks. May dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
80 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2025. $263K cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 12 | — | |
| 2022 | 16 | +33.3% | |
| 2023 | 14 | -12.5% | |
| 2024 | 15 | +7.1% | |
| 2025 | 23 | +53.3% |
For the 2 building fires Fostoria departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 16 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 | 43.8% | |
| 2 | Vehicle area, other | 4 | 25.0% | |
| 3 | Other | 1 | 6.2% | |
| 4 | Conduit, pipe, utility, or ventilation shaft | 1 | 6.2% | |
| 5 | Wall assembly | 1 | 6.2% | |
| 6 | Outside area, other | 1 | 6.2% | |
| 7 | Vacant structural area | 1 | 6.2% |
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 Fostoria mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 13 | 81.2% | |
| 2 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 1 | 6.2% | |
| 3 | Hot ember or ash | 1 | 6.2% | |
| 4 | Heat spread from another fire, other | 1 | 6.2% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Fostoria departments in 2025. These 3 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $65,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 2 | $1,000 | Chimney or flue fire, confined to chimney or flue | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $1,000 | Grass fire | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Fostoria sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 1,696 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2012 | Arson/incendiarism | 335 | 28.0 mi | |
| 2012 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 257 | 42.0 mi | |
| 2003 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 116 | 36.7 mi | |
| 2010 | Debris and open burning | 70 | 26.2 mi | |
| 2004 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 67 | 28.8 mi | |
| 2012 | Smoking | 64 | 12.2 mi | |
| 2009 | Debris and open burning | 63 | 27.8 mi | |
| 2006 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 61 | 32.5 mi | |
| 1994 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 60 | 20.2 mi | |
| 2003 | Debris and open burning | 53 | 43.3 mi | |
| 2020 | Debris and open burning | 50 | 45.0 mi | |
| 2020 | Natural | 50 | 39.0 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 Michigan cities with population within ±25% of Fostoria. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
1 departments report to NFIRS for incidents in Fostoria.
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.