In 2025, fire departments serving Goshen responded to 96 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $35K 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 60% of all calls.
Mar peaks. Dec dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
672 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2022. $1.3M cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 87 | — | |
| 2022 | 230 | +164.4% | |
| 2023 | 132 | -42.6% | |
| 2024 | 127 | -3.8% | |
| 2025 | 96 | -24.4% |
For the 19 building fires Goshen departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 170 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 | 43 | 25.3% | |
| 2 | Undetermined | 34 | 20.0% | |
| 3 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 28 | 16.5% | |
| 4 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 11 | 6.5% | |
| 5 | Wildland, woods | 9 | 5.3% | |
| 6 | Other | 8 | 4.7% | |
| 7 | Cooking area, kitchen | 6 | 3.5% | |
| 8 | Vehicle storage area; garage, carport | 5 | 2.9% | |
| 9 | Bedroom - < 5 persons; included are jail or prison | 3 | 1.8% | |
| 10 | Wall surface: exterior | 3 | 1.8% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 20 | 11.8% |
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 Goshen mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 86 | 50.6% | |
| 2 | Flame/torch used for lighting | 11 | 6.5% | |
| 3 | Heat source: other | 7 | 4.1% | |
| 4 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 7 | 4.1% | |
| 5 | Arcing | 7 | 4.1% | |
| 6 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 7 | 4.1% | |
| 7 | Hot ember or ash | 7 | 4.1% | |
| 8 | Cigarette lighter | 7 | 4.1% | |
| 9 | Heat from other open flame or smoking materials | 6 | 3.5% | |
| 10 | Heat spread from another fire, other | 6 | 3.5% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 19 | 11.2% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Goshen departments in 2025. These 3 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $35,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 2 | $5,000 | Mobile property (vehicle) fire, other | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $1,100 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Goshen sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 1,004 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2012 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 125 | 25.3 mi | |
| 2014 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 70 | 43.8 mi | |
| 2002 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 57 | 31.5 mi | |
| 2004 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 55 | 44.1 mi | |
| 2010 | Debris and open burning | 53 | 28.9 mi | |
| 2020 | Debris and open burning | 50 | 47.2 mi | |
| 2008 | Arson/incendiarism | 47 | 49.1 mi | |
| 2004 | Debris and open burning | 45 | 32.6 mi | |
| 2014 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 40 | 41.3 mi | |
| 2012 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 40 | 47.7 mi | |
| 2020 | Debris and open burning | 40 | 48.6 mi | |
| 2020 | Debris and open burning | 37 | 48.9 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 Goshen. 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.