In 2025, fire departments serving Jefferson responded to 54 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $500K 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 59% of all calls.
Jul peaks. Aug dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
258 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2024. $1.1M cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 50 | — | |
| 2022 | 37 | -26.0% | |
| 2023 | 47 | +27.0% | |
| 2024 | 70 | +48.9% | |
| 2025 | 54 | -22.9% |
For the 4 building fires Jefferson departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 70 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 | 15 | 21.4% | |
| 2 | Undetermined | 13 | 18.6% | |
| 3 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 12 | 17.1% | |
| 4 | Cooking area, kitchen | 7 | 10.0% | |
| 5 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 6 | 8.6% | |
| 6 | Cargo/trunk area - all vehicles | 3 | 4.3% | |
| 7 | Other | 2 | 2.9% | |
| 8 | Exterior, exposed surface | 2 | 2.9% | |
| 9 | Bedroom - < 5 persons; included are jail or prison | 1 | 1.4% | |
| 10 | Technical processing areas, other | 1 | 1.4% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 8 | 11.4% |
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 Jefferson mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 37 | 52.9% | |
| 2 | Heat source: other | 5 | 7.1% | |
| 3 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 5 | 7.1% | |
| 4 | Flame/torch used for lighting | 4 | 5.7% | |
| 5 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 3 | 4.3% | |
| 6 | Cigarette lighter | 3 | 4.3% | |
| 7 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 2 | 2.9% | |
| 8 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 2 | 2.9% | |
| 9 | Heat, spark from friction | 2 | 2.9% | |
| 10 | Arcing | 1 | 1.4% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 6 | 8.6% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Jefferson departments in 2025. These 2 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $500,000 | Building fires | Major | Investigated |
| 2 | $7,500 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Jefferson sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 7 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 513 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 | 30.2 mi | |
| 1995 | Equipment and vehicle use | 29 | 44.2 mi | |
| 2018 | Debris and open burning | 25 | 42.2 mi | |
| 2002 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 20 | 18.1 mi | |
| 2018 | Debris and open burning | 16 | 48.6 mi | |
| 2016 | Debris and open burning | 12 | 34.3 mi | |
| 2019 | Debris and open burning | 11 | 49.4 mi |
Top 10 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 Jefferson. 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.