In 2025, fire departments serving Kenton responded to 152 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $100K 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 70% of all calls.
Jul peaks. Jun dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
791 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2023. $3.1M cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 175 | — | |
| 2022 | 135 | -22.9% | |
| 2023 | 183 | +35.6% | |
| 2024 | 146 | -20.2% | |
| 2025 | 152 | +4.1% |
For the 50 building fires Kenton departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 205 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 | Undetermined | 44 | 21.5% | |
| 2 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 30 | 14.6% | |
| 3 | Outside area, other | 19 | 9.3% | |
| 4 | Cooking area, kitchen | 18 | 8.8% | |
| 5 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 17 | 8.3% | |
| 6 | Other | 7 | 3.4% | |
| 7 | Bedroom - < 5 persons; included are jail or prison | 7 | 3.4% | |
| 8 | Chute/container - trash, rubbish, waste | 7 | 3.4% | |
| 9 | Vehicle area, other | 5 | 2.4% | |
| 10 | Storage area, other | 4 | 2.0% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 47 | 22.9% |
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 Kenton mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 93 | 45.4% | |
| 2 | Heat source: other | 22 | 10.7% | |
| 3 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 17 | 8.3% | |
| 4 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 12 | 5.9% | |
| 5 | Arcing | 10 | 4.9% | |
| 6 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 8 | 3.9% | |
| 7 | Cigarette lighter | 8 | 3.9% | |
| 8 | Hot ember or ash | 7 | 3.4% | |
| 9 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 4 | 2.0% | |
| 10 | Heat spread from another fire, other | 4 | 2.0% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 20 | 9.8% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Kenton departments in 2025. These 8 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $100,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 2 | $70,000 | Fire in motor home, camper, recreational vehicle | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $30,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 4 | $25,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 5 | $3,000 | Natural vegetation fire, other | Significant | Investigated |
| 6 | $2,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 7 | $1,500 | Electrical wiring/equipment problem, other | Significant | Investigated |
| 8 | $500 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Kenton sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 5 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 440 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2005 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 332 | 18.0 mi | |
| 2019 | Debris and open burning | 58 | 48.4 mi | |
| 2002 | Debris and open burning | 25 | 44.0 mi | |
| 2002 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 15 | 49.1 mi | |
| 2019 | Debris and open burning | 10 | 46.2 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 Kenton. 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.