In 2025, fire departments serving Liberty Center responded to 28 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $300K 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 78% of all calls.
Mar peaks. Aug dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
144 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2024. $537K cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 24 | — | |
| 2022 | 30 | +25.0% | |
| 2023 | 24 | -20.0% | |
| 2024 | 38 | +58.3% | |
| 2025 | 28 | -26.3% |
For the 10 building fires Liberty Center 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 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 14 | 29.2% | |
| 2 | Undetermined | 8 | 16.7% | |
| 3 | Other | 5 | 10.4% | |
| 4 | Vehicle storage area; garage, carport | 3 | 6.2% | |
| 5 | Outside area, other | 3 | 6.2% | |
| 6 | Wildland, woods | 3 | 6.2% | |
| 7 | Wall surface: exterior | 2 | 4.2% | |
| 8 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 2 | 4.2% | |
| 9 | Highway, parking lot, street: on or near | 2 | 4.2% | |
| 10 | Function area, other | 1 | 2.1% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 5 | 10.4% |
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 Liberty Center mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 16 | 33.3% | |
| 2 | Flying brand, ember, spark | 7 | 14.6% | |
| 3 | Hot ember or ash | 6 | 12.5% | |
| 4 | Arcing | 4 | 8.3% | |
| 5 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 3 | 6.2% | |
| 6 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 2 | 4.2% | |
| 7 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 2 | 4.2% | |
| 8 | Heat from direct flame, convection currents | 2 | 4.2% | |
| 9 | Heat source: other | 1 | 2.1% | |
| 10 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 1 | 2.1% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 4 | 8.3% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Liberty Center departments in 2025. These 7 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $300,000 | Building fires | Major | Investigated |
| 2 | $30,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $20,000 | Road freight or transport vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 4 | $1,500 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 5 | $1,200 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 6 | $500 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 7 | $100 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Liberty Center sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 21 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 520 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2019 | Equipment and vehicle use | 80 | 43.6 mi | |
| 2005 | Debris and open burning | 77 | 47.0 mi | |
| 2010 | Arson/incendiarism | 69 | 34.4 mi | |
| 2019 | Debris and open burning | 58 | 16.4 mi | |
| 2019 | Debris and open burning | 40 | 29.6 mi | |
| 2017 | Debris and open burning | 22 | 16.9 mi | |
| 2011 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 16 | 16.6 mi | |
| 2019 | Equipment and vehicle use | 15 | 41.1 mi | |
| 2019 | Equipment and vehicle use | 15 | 39.1 mi | |
| 2019 | Natural | 15 | 46.4 mi | |
| 2019 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 12 | 27.6 mi | |
| 2015 | Debris and open burning | 11 | 8.1 mi |
Top 2 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 Liberty Center. 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.