In 2025, fire departments serving Geneva responded to 117 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $150K building blaze. Here's the full picture.
Accident, potential accident, other lead by count. Building fires lead by dollars. Together the top five categories make up about 67% of all calls.
Apr peaks. Dec dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
763 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2024. $826K cumulative property loss. 1 civilian deaths.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 162 | — | |
| 2022 | 130 | -19.8% | |
| 2023 | 166 | +27.7% | |
| 2024 | 188 | +13.3% | |
| 2025 | 117 | -37.8% |
For the 22 building fires Geneva departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 83 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 | Cooking area, kitchen | 15 | 18.1% | |
| 2 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 13 | 15.7% | |
| 3 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 6 | 7.2% | |
| 4 | Bedroom - < 5 persons; included are jail or prison | 5 | 6.0% | |
| 5 | Undetermined | 5 | 6.0% | |
| 6 | Other | 3 | 3.6% | |
| 7 | Vehicle storage area; garage, carport | 3 | 3.6% | |
| 8 | Exterior balcony, unenclosed porch | 3 | 3.6% | |
| 9 | Vehicle area, other | 3 | 3.6% | |
| 10 | Operator/passenger area of transportation equip. | 3 | 3.6% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 24 | 28.9% |
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 Geneva mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 36 | 43.4% | |
| 2 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 8 | 9.6% | |
| 3 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 7 | 8.4% | |
| 4 | Heat from other open flame or smoking materials | 5 | 6.0% | |
| 5 | Hot ember or ash | 3 | 3.6% | |
| 6 | Candle | 3 | 3.6% | |
| 7 | Flame/torch used for lighting | 3 | 3.6% | |
| 8 | Molten, hot material | 2 | 2.4% | |
| 9 | Cigarette | 2 | 2.4% | |
| 10 | Lightning | 2 | 2.4% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 12 | 14.5% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Geneva departments in 2025. These 5 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $150,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 2 | $85,000 | Aircraft fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $20,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 4 | $20,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 5 | $10,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Geneva sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
7 fire-related casualties recorded in NFIRS Module 11 across the 2021–2025 window. Age, gender, and severity are coarse-binned — no individual identification possible.
| Age | Count | |
|---|---|---|
| 0-9 | 0 | |
| 10-19 | 0 | |
| 20-29 | 0 | |
| 30-39 | 1 | |
| 40-49 | 1 | |
| 50-59 | 2 | |
| 60-69 | 2 | |
| 70-79 | 1 | |
| 80+ | 0 |
Top 3 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 432 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2003 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 400 | 22.4 mi | |
| 2002 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 20 | 10.6 mi | |
| 2016 | Debris and open burning | 12 | 43.0 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 Geneva. 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.