In 2025, fire departments serving Kingston responded to 35 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $2.0M 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 80% of all calls.
Sep peaks. Jul dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
180 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2022. $2.4M cumulative property loss. 1 civilian deaths.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 22 | — | |
| 2022 | 44 | +100.0% | |
| 2023 | 43 | -2.3% | |
| 2024 | 36 | -16.3% | |
| 2025 | 35 | -2.8% |
For the 18 building fires Kingston departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 60 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 | Other | 14 | 23.3% | |
| 2 | Undetermined | 11 | 18.3% | |
| 3 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 9 | 15.0% | |
| 4 | Outside area, other | 6 | 10.0% | |
| 5 | Function area, other | 3 | 5.0% | |
| 6 | Wall assembly | 3 | 5.0% | |
| 7 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 3 | 5.0% | |
| 8 | Common room, den, family room, living room, lounge | 1 | 1.7% | |
| 9 | Bedroom - < 5 persons; included are jail or prison | 1 | 1.7% | |
| 10 | Cooking area, kitchen | 1 | 1.7% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 8 | 13.3% |
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 Kingston mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 19 | 31.7% | |
| 2 | Cigarette lighter | 11 | 18.3% | |
| 3 | Heat source: other | 8 | 13.3% | |
| 4 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 6 | 10.0% | |
| 5 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 5 | 8.3% | |
| 6 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 3 | 5.0% | |
| 7 | Hot ember or ash | 3 | 5.0% | |
| 8 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 1 | 1.7% | |
| 9 | Arcing | 1 | 1.7% | |
| 10 | Heat, spark from friction | 1 | 1.7% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 2 | 3.3% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Kingston departments in 2025. These 6 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $2,000,000 | Building fires | Major | Investigated |
| 2 | $100,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $50,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 4 | $28,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 5 | $5,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 6 | $2,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Kingston sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 4,132 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2003 | Debris and open burning | 1,016 | 47.2 mi | |
| 2010 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 355 | 10.4 mi | |
| 2001 | Arson/incendiarism | 300 | 49.0 mi | |
| 2013 | Arson/incendiarism | 280 | 16.6 mi | |
| 2009 | Arson/incendiarism | 197 | 49.2 mi | |
| 2014 | Arson/incendiarism | 180 | 46.7 mi | |
| 2012 | Arson/incendiarism | 146 | 45.5 mi | |
| 2010 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 137 | 38.0 mi | |
| 2015 | Power generation/transmission/distribution | 131 | 31.3 mi | |
| 2006 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 128 | 42.6 mi | |
| 2006 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 125 | 47.7 mi | |
| 2012 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 125 | 47.8 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 Kingston. 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.