In 2025, fire departments serving Jamestown responded to 51 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $312K 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 77% of all calls.
Jan peaks. Jul dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
304 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2022. $1.1M cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 62 | — | |
| 2022 | 88 | +41.9% | |
| 2023 | 44 | -50.0% | |
| 2024 | 59 | +34.1% | |
| 2025 | 51 | -13.6% |
For the 24 building fires Jamestown departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 48 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 | 10 | 20.8% | |
| 2 | Undetermined | 6 | 12.5% | |
| 3 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 5 | 10.4% | |
| 4 | Other | 3 | 6.2% | |
| 5 | Outside area, other | 3 | 6.2% | |
| 6 | Cooking area, kitchen | 2 | 4.2% | |
| 7 | Exterior balcony, unenclosed porch | 2 | 4.2% | |
| 8 | Wall surface: exterior | 2 | 4.2% | |
| 9 | Common room, den, family room, living room, lounge | 1 | 2.1% | |
| 10 | Storage room, area, tank, or bin | 1 | 2.1% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 13 | 27.1% |
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 Jamestown mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 13 | 27.1% | |
| 2 | Heat source: other | 5 | 10.4% | |
| 3 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 5 | 10.4% | |
| 4 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 4 | 8.3% | |
| 5 | Arcing | 3 | 6.2% | |
| 6 | Hot ember or ash | 3 | 6.2% | |
| 7 | Heat from other open flame or smoking materials | 2 | 4.2% | |
| 8 | Heat spread from another fire, other | 2 | 4.2% | |
| 9 | Flying brand, ember, spark | 2 | 4.2% | |
| 10 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 1 | 2.1% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 8 | 16.7% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Jamestown departments in 2025. These 4 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $311,638 | Building fires | Major | Investigated |
| 2 | $200,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $100,000 | Off-road vehicle or heavy equipment fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 4 | $1,500 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Jamestown sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 676 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 | 36.1 mi | |
| 2014 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 70 | 46.8 mi | |
| 2020 | Debris and open burning | 50 | 38.5 mi | |
| 2012 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 40 | 44.7 mi | |
| 2020 | Debris and open burning | 40 | 45.1 mi | |
| 2020 | Debris and open burning | 37 | 45.8 mi | |
| 2003 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 25 | 48.3 mi | |
| 2014 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 25 | 46.8 mi | |
| 2015 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 25 | 37.7 mi | |
| 2002 | Debris and open burning | 25 | 29.6 mi | |
| 2011 | Debris and open burning | 20 | 45.3 mi | |
| 2020 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 20 | 41.3 mi |
Top 1 ZIP codes by NFIRS incident count across 2021–2025. Each ZIP has its own fire profile — dive in for neighborhood-level context.
| # | ZIP | 5-yr incidents | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 45335 | 304 |
Six Ohio cities with population within ±25% of Jamestown. 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.