In 2025, fire departments serving Heath responded to 141 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $300K 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 59% of all calls.
Jun peaks. May dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
709 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2023. $2.2M cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 101 | — | |
| 2022 | 129 | +27.7% | |
| 2023 | 173 | +34.1% | |
| 2024 | 165 | -4.6% | |
| 2025 | 141 | -14.5% |
For the 36 building fires Heath departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 120 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 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 17 | 14.2% | |
| 2 | Undetermined | 17 | 14.2% | |
| 3 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 13 | 10.8% | |
| 4 | Cooking area, kitchen | 8 | 6.7% | |
| 5 | Other | 7 | 5.8% | |
| 6 | Operator/passenger area of transportation equip. | 6 | 5.0% | |
| 7 | Outside area, other | 5 | 4.2% | |
| 8 | Highway, parking lot, street: on or near | 5 | 4.2% | |
| 9 | Equipment or service area, other | 4 | 3.3% | |
| 10 | Courtyard, patio, porch, terrace | 4 | 3.3% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 34 | 28.3% |
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 Heath mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 51 | 42.5% | |
| 2 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 10 | 8.3% | |
| 3 | Arcing | 10 | 8.3% | |
| 4 | Hot ember or ash | 10 | 8.3% | |
| 5 | Cigarette lighter | 7 | 5.8% | |
| 6 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 6 | 5.0% | |
| 7 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 5 | 4.2% | |
| 8 | Heat source: other | 4 | 3.3% | |
| 9 | Heat from other open flame or smoking materials | 4 | 3.3% | |
| 10 | Molten, hot material | 2 | 1.7% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 11 | 9.2% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Heath departments in 2025. These 8 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $300,000 | Building fires | Major | Investigated |
| 2 | $100,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $25,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 4 | $9,500 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 5 | $5,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 6 | $5,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 7 | $5,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 8 | $2,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Heath sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 1,905 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 355 | 47.3 mi | |
| 2013 | Arson/incendiarism | 280 | 48.8 mi | |
| 2015 | Debris and open burning | 171 | 46.9 mi | |
| 2013 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 150 | 28.7 mi | |
| 2015 | Power generation/transmission/distribution | 131 | 49.5 mi | |
| 2014 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 100 | 43.9 mi | |
| 2013 | Recreation and ceremony | 75 | 40.8 mi | |
| 2013 | Power generation/transmission/distribution | 53 | 36.3 mi | |
| 2015 | Debris and open burning | 50 | 11.6 mi | |
| 2015 | Debris and open burning | 50 | 22.2 mi | |
| 2015 | Arson/incendiarism | 50 | 26.1 mi | |
| 2014 | Debris and open burning | 50 | 19.7 mi |
Top 3 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 Heath. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
1 departments report to NFIRS for incidents in Heath.
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.