In 2025, fire departments serving Highland Heights responded to 58 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $10 building blaze. Here's the full picture.
Gas leak (natural gas or LPG) lead by count. Building fires lead by dollars. Together the top five categories make up about 60% of all calls.
Jan peaks. Sep dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
483 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2024. $109K cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 110 | — | |
| 2022 | 100 | -9.1% | |
| 2023 | 97 | -3.0% | |
| 2024 | 118 | +21.6% | |
| 2025 | 58 | -50.8% |
For the 8 building fires Highland Heights departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 132 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 | Machinery room or area; elevator machinery room | 34 | 25.8% | |
| 2 | Cooking area, kitchen | 12 | 9.1% | |
| 3 | Outside area, other | 12 | 9.1% | |
| 4 | Processing/manufacturing area, workroom | 11 | 8.3% | |
| 5 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 11 | 8.3% | |
| 6 | Equipment or service area, other | 8 | 6.1% | |
| 7 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 5 | 3.8% | |
| 8 | Wall surface: exterior | 4 | 3.0% | |
| 9 | Highway, parking lot, street: on or near | 4 | 3.0% | |
| 10 | Courtyard, patio, porch, terrace | 4 | 3.0% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 27 | 20.5% |
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 Highland Heights mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Heat, spark from friction | 39 | 29.5% | |
| 2 | Undetermined | 26 | 19.7% | |
| 3 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 21 | 15.9% | |
| 4 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 11 | 8.3% | |
| 5 | Arcing | 8 | 6.1% | |
| 6 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 4 | 3.0% | |
| 7 | Cigarette | 4 | 3.0% | |
| 8 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 3 | 2.3% | |
| 9 | Hot ember or ash | 3 | 2.3% | |
| 10 | Heat source: other | 2 | 1.5% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 11 | 8.3% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Highland Heights departments in 2025. These 1 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $10 | Cooking fire, confined to container | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Highland Heights sits below the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 3 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 450 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 | 10.8 mi | |
| 2005 | Debris and open burning | 30 | 49.1 mi | |
| 2002 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 20 | 21.4 mi |
Top 6 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 Highland Heights. 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.