In 2025, fire departments serving Gibsonburg responded to 40 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $110K 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 58% of all calls.
Nov peaks. Aug dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
167 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2024. $1.6M cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 30 | — | |
| 2022 | 29 | -3.3% | |
| 2023* | 20 | — | |
| 2024 | 48 | — | |
| 2025 | 40 | -16.7% |
* Well below Gibsonburg's usual volume. That almost always means one or more departments didn't submit a full year to NFIRS, not that fires dropped, so no year-over-year change is shown for it.
For the 8 building fires Gibsonburg departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 67 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 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 21 | 31.3% | |
| 2 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 6 | 9.0% | |
| 3 | Outside area, other | 6 | 9.0% | |
| 4 | Undetermined | 6 | 9.0% | |
| 5 | Common room, den, family room, living room, lounge | 4 | 6.0% | |
| 6 | Chute/container - trash, rubbish, waste | 3 | 4.5% | |
| 7 | Wall assembly | 3 | 4.5% | |
| 8 | Vehicle storage area; garage, carport | 2 | 3.0% | |
| 9 | Structural area, other | 2 | 3.0% | |
| 10 | Exterior balcony, unenclosed porch | 2 | 3.0% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 12 | 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 Gibsonburg mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 20 | 29.9% | |
| 2 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 5 | 7.5% | |
| 3 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 5 | 7.5% | |
| 4 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 5 | 7.5% | |
| 5 | Hot ember or ash | 5 | 7.5% | |
| 6 | Cigarette lighter | 5 | 7.5% | |
| 7 | Flame/torch used for lighting | 5 | 7.5% | |
| 8 | Match | 4 | 6.0% | |
| 9 | Arcing | 3 | 4.5% | |
| 10 | Heat source: other | 2 | 3.0% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 8 | 11.9% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Gibsonburg departments in 2025. These 7 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $110,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 2 | $80,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $75,000 | Fire in mobile home used as fixed residence | Significant | Investigated |
| 4 | $5,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 5 | $1,000 | Dumpster or other outside trash receptacle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 6 | $1,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 7 | $500 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Gibsonburg sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 16 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 745 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2019 | Debris and open burning | 300 | 43.3 mi | |
| 2019 | Equipment and vehicle use | 80 | 40.9 mi | |
| 2005 | Debris and open burning | 77 | 47.7 mi | |
| 2010 | Arson/incendiarism | 69 | 25.9 mi | |
| 2019 | Debris and open burning | 58 | 43.5 mi | |
| 2010 | Arson/incendiarism | 42 | 45.7 mi | |
| 2017 | Debris and open burning | 22 | 29.1 mi | |
| 2011 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 16 | 46.8 mi | |
| 2015 | Debris and open burning | 11 | 34.3 mi | |
| 2019 | Debris and open burning | 10 | 44.7 mi | |
| 2013 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 10 | 13.8 mi | |
| 2015 | Debris and open burning | 10 | 31.4 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 Gibsonburg. 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.