In 2025, fire departments serving Grafton responded to 97 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $40K 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 78% of all calls.
Apr peaks. May dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
503 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2024. $1.3M cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 73 | — | |
| 2022 | 113 | +54.8% | |
| 2023 | 101 | -10.6% | |
| 2024 | 119 | +17.8% | |
| 2025 | 97 | -18.5% |
For the 28 building fires Grafton departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 93 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 | 20 | 21.5% | |
| 2 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 15 | 16.1% | |
| 3 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 8 | 8.6% | |
| 4 | Undetermined | 7 | 7.5% | |
| 5 | Railroad right of way: on or near | 4 | 4.3% | |
| 6 | Other | 3 | 3.2% | |
| 7 | Cooking area, kitchen | 3 | 3.2% | |
| 8 | Vehicle area, other | 3 | 3.2% | |
| 9 | Highway, parking lot, street: on or near | 3 | 3.2% | |
| 10 | Closet | 2 | 2.2% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 25 | 26.9% |
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 Grafton mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 43 | 46.2% | |
| 2 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 9 | 9.7% | |
| 3 | Cigarette lighter | 6 | 6.5% | |
| 4 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 5 | 5.4% | |
| 5 | Arcing | 5 | 5.4% | |
| 6 | Hot ember or ash | 4 | 4.3% | |
| 7 | Flame/torch used for lighting | 3 | 3.2% | |
| 8 | Flying brand, ember, spark | 3 | 3.2% | |
| 9 | Heat source: other | 2 | 2.2% | |
| 10 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 2 | 2.2% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 11 | 11.8% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Grafton departments in 2025. These 8 fires alone account for 97% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $40,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 2 | $40,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $25,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 4 | $20,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 5 | $10,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 6 | $10,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 7 | $7,500 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 8 | $4,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Grafton sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 8 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 696 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 | 45.0 mi | |
| 2015 | Debris and open burning | 171 | 43.0 mi | |
| 2005 | Debris and open burning | 30 | 47.7 mi | |
| 2002 | Recreation and ceremony | 25 | 30.0 mi | |
| 2019 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 20 | 28.9 mi | |
| 2020 | Debris and open burning | 20 | 29.1 mi | |
| 2020 | Debris and open burning | 20 | 26.2 mi | |
| 2020 | Debris and open burning | 10 | 25.7 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 Grafton. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
1 departments report to NFIRS for incidents in Grafton.
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.