In 2025, fire departments serving London responded to 138 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $248K 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.
Mar peaks. Dec dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
729 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2023. $2.1M cumulative property loss. 2 civilian deaths.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 129 | — | |
| 2022 | 143 | +10.9% | |
| 2023 | 172 | +20.3% | |
| 2024 | 147 | -14.5% | |
| 2025 | 138 | -6.1% |
For the 40 building fires London departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 150 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 | 28 | 18.7% | |
| 2 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 20 | 13.3% | |
| 3 | Outside area, other | 15 | 10.0% | |
| 4 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 15 | 10.0% | |
| 5 | Cooking area, kitchen | 8 | 5.3% | |
| 6 | Wall assembly | 7 | 4.7% | |
| 7 | Highway, parking lot, street: on or near | 5 | 3.3% | |
| 8 | Other | 4 | 2.7% | |
| 9 | Bathroom, checkroom, lavatory, locker room | 4 | 2.7% | |
| 10 | Chute/container - trash, rubbish, waste | 4 | 2.7% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 40 | 26.7% |
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 London mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 78 | 52.0% | |
| 2 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 14 | 9.3% | |
| 3 | Arcing | 14 | 9.3% | |
| 4 | Hot ember or ash | 7 | 4.7% | |
| 5 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 5 | 3.3% | |
| 6 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 4 | 2.7% | |
| 7 | Heat, spark from friction | 4 | 2.7% | |
| 8 | Cigarette lighter | 4 | 2.7% | |
| 9 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 3 | 2.0% | |
| 10 | Cigarette | 3 | 2.0% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 14 | 9.3% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by London departments in 2025. These 8 fires alone account for 97% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $248,400 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 2 | $225,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $225,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 4 | $210,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 5 | $100,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 6 | $90,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 7 | $75,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 8 | $65,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. London sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 16 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 296 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | Debris and open burning | 50 | 46.2 mi | |
| 2015 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 25 | 49.4 mi | |
| 2020 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 25 | 47.4 mi | |
| 2002 | Debris and open burning | 25 | 29.0 mi | |
| 2012 | Debris and open burning | 24 | 38.1 mi | |
| 2012 | Debris and open burning | 24 | 49.9 mi | |
| 2012 | Recreation and ceremony | 18 | 43.4 mi | |
| 2002 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 15 | 15.8 mi | |
| 2014 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 15 | 40.4 mi | |
| 2020 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 15 | 42.5 mi | |
| 2007 | Debris and open burning | 10 | 49.5 mi | |
| 2011 | Debris and open burning | 10 | 43.2 mi |
Top 4 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 London. 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.