In 2025, fire departments serving Galion responded to 125 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $100K building blaze. Here's the full picture.
Unauthorized burning lead by count. Building fires lead by dollars. Together the top five categories make up about 65% of all calls.
Jun peaks. Jul dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
731 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2023. $1.7M cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 139 | — | |
| 2022 | 165 | +18.7% | |
| 2023 | 170 | +3.0% | |
| 2024 | 132 | -22.4% | |
| 2025 | 125 | -5.3% |
For the 27 building fires Galion departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 158 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 | Outside area, other | 30 | 19.0% | |
| 2 | Undetermined | 24 | 15.2% | |
| 3 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 19 | 12.0% | |
| 4 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 18 | 11.4% | |
| 5 | Cooking area, kitchen | 8 | 5.1% | |
| 6 | Vehicle storage area; garage, carport | 5 | 3.2% | |
| 7 | Vehicle area, other | 5 | 3.2% | |
| 8 | Wall surface: exterior | 4 | 2.5% | |
| 9 | Function area, other | 3 | 1.9% | |
| 10 | Substructure area or space, crawl space | 3 | 1.9% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 39 | 24.7% |
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 Galion mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 76 | 48.1% | |
| 2 | Hot ember or ash | 12 | 7.6% | |
| 3 | Arcing | 10 | 6.3% | |
| 4 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 9 | 5.7% | |
| 5 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 8 | 5.1% | |
| 6 | Heat from other open flame or smoking materials | 6 | 3.8% | |
| 7 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 5 | 3.2% | |
| 8 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 4 | 2.5% | |
| 9 | Match | 4 | 2.5% | |
| 10 | Cigarette lighter | 4 | 2.5% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 20 | 12.7% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Galion departments in 2025. These 8 fires alone account for 86% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $100,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 2 | $34,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $30,000 | Off-road vehicle or heavy equipment fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 4 | $25,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 5 | $20,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 6 | $20,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 7 | $20,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 8 | $15,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Galion sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 13 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 688 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2005 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 332 | 26.3 mi | |
| 2015 | Debris and open burning | 171 | 24.5 mi | |
| 2005 | Debris and open burning | 30 | 44.7 mi | |
| 2002 | Recreation and ceremony | 25 | 46.7 mi | |
| 2019 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 20 | 26.1 mi | |
| 2020 | Debris and open burning | 20 | 24.8 mi | |
| 2020 | Debris and open burning | 20 | 32.3 mi | |
| 2013 | Debris and open burning | 15 | 35.1 mi | |
| 2015 | Debris and open burning | 15 | 37.7 mi | |
| 2014 | Debris and open burning | 10 | 48.0 mi | |
| 2015 | Recreation and ceremony | 10 | 32.1 mi | |
| 2016 | Arson/incendiarism | 10 | 43.0 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 Ohio cities with population within ±25% of Galion. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
1 departments report to NFIRS for incidents in Galion.
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.