In 2025, fire departments serving Independence responded to 91 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $8K building blaze. Here's the full picture.
Power line down lead by count. Building fires lead by dollars. Together the top five categories make up about 65% of all calls.
Jun peaks. Aug dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
610 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2022. $1.3M cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 139 | — | |
| 2022 | 161 | +15.8% | |
| 2023 | 104 | -35.4% | |
| 2024 | 115 | +10.6% | |
| 2025 | 91 | -20.9% |
For the 7 building fires Independence departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 113 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 | 28 | 24.8% | |
| 2 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 24 | 21.2% | |
| 3 | Highway, parking lot, street: on or near | 15 | 13.3% | |
| 4 | Cooking area, kitchen | 9 | 8.0% | |
| 5 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 7 | 6.2% | |
| 6 | Wildland, woods | 5 | 4.4% | |
| 7 | Courtyard, patio, porch, terrace | 4 | 3.5% | |
| 8 | Undetermined | 4 | 3.5% | |
| 9 | Laundry area, wash house (laundry) | 2 | 1.8% | |
| 10 | Laboratory | 2 | 1.8% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 13 | 11.5% |
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 Independence mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 49 | 43.4% | |
| 2 | Cigarette | 13 | 11.5% | |
| 3 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 6 | 5.3% | |
| 4 | Arcing | 5 | 4.4% | |
| 5 | Hot ember or ash | 5 | 4.4% | |
| 6 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 4 | 3.5% | |
| 7 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 4 | 3.5% | |
| 8 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 3 | 2.7% | |
| 9 | Cigarette lighter | 3 | 2.7% | |
| 10 | Chemical reaction | 3 | 2.7% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 18 | 15.9% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Independence departments in 2025. These 5 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $8,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 2 | $5,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $5,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 4 | $4,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 5 | $1,000 | Road freight or transport vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Independence sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 8 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 545 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 | 25.7 mi | |
| 2005 | Debris and open burning | 30 | 40.0 mi | |
| 2002 | Recreation and ceremony | 25 | 38.3 mi | |
| 2019 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 20 | 48.1 mi | |
| 2020 | Debris and open burning | 20 | 49.4 mi | |
| 2020 | Debris and open burning | 20 | 43.3 mi | |
| 2002 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 20 | 35.7 mi | |
| 2020 | Debris and open burning | 10 | 42.7 mi |
Top 5 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 Independence. 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.