In 2025, fire departments serving Gallipolis responded to 108 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $290K 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 48% of all calls.
Jul peaks. Dec dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
604 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2022. $2.8M cumulative property loss. 1 civilian deaths.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 85 | — | |
| 2022 | 160 | +88.2% | |
| 2023 | 138 | -13.8% | |
| 2024 | 113 | -18.1% | |
| 2025 | 108 | -4.4% |
For the 13 building fires Gallipolis departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 196 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 | 61 | 31.1% | |
| 2 | Outside area, other | 29 | 14.8% | |
| 3 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 24 | 12.2% | |
| 4 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 21 | 10.7% | |
| 5 | Other | 8 | 4.1% | |
| 6 | Cooking area, kitchen | 6 | 3.1% | |
| 7 | Common room, den, family room, living room, lounge | 3 | 1.5% | |
| 8 | Function area, other | 3 | 1.5% | |
| 9 | Laundry area, wash house (laundry) | 3 | 1.5% | |
| 10 | Processing/manufacturing area, workroom | 3 | 1.5% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 35 | 17.9% |
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 Gallipolis mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 106 | 54.1% | |
| 2 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 18 | 9.2% | |
| 3 | Cigarette lighter | 11 | 5.6% | |
| 4 | Arcing | 10 | 5.1% | |
| 5 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 8 | 4.1% | |
| 6 | Hot ember or ash | 7 | 3.6% | |
| 7 | Heat spread from another fire, other | 7 | 3.6% | |
| 8 | Heat source: other | 4 | 2.0% | |
| 9 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 4 | 2.0% | |
| 10 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 4 | 2.0% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 17 | 8.7% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Gallipolis departments in 2025. These 8 fires alone account for 96% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $290,000 | Building fires | Major | Investigated |
| 2 | $145,000 | Fires in structures other than in a building | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $60,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 4 | $60,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 5 | $30,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 6 | $20,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 7 | $10,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 8 | $7,000 | Water vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Gallipolis sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 11,066 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1999 | Arson/incendiarism | 1,624 | 45.8 mi | |
| 2001 | Arson/incendiarism | 754 | 46.5 mi | |
| 1995 | Arson/incendiarism | 746 | 47.3 mi | |
| 2001 | Arson/incendiarism | 550 | 47.4 mi | |
| 1999 | Arson/incendiarism | 500 | 48.7 mi | |
| 2016 | Debris and open burning | 476 | 42.6 mi | |
| 2002 | Debris and open burning | 450 | 46.0 mi | |
| 2000 | Arson/incendiarism | 448 | 40.6 mi | |
| 2018 | Debris and open burning | 435 | 45.5 mi | |
| 1994 | Debris and open burning | 433 | 48.6 mi | |
| 1995 | Equipment and vehicle use | 429 | 49.5 mi | |
| 2000 | Recreation and ceremony | 400 | 44.3 mi |
Top 4 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 Gallipolis. 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.