In 2025, fire departments serving Lowell responded to 23 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $10K 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 65% of all calls.
Jul peaks. Feb dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
117 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2023. $922K cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 22 | — | |
| 2022 | 22 | +0.0% | |
| 2023 | 29 | +31.8% | |
| 2024 | 21 | -27.6% | |
| 2025 | 23 | +9.5% |
For the 6 building fires Lowell departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 28 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 | 11 | 39.3% | |
| 2 | Storage: supplies or tools; dead storage | 2 | 7.1% | |
| 3 | Conduit, pipe, utility, or ventilation shaft | 2 | 7.1% | |
| 4 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 2 | 7.1% | |
| 5 | Other | 1 | 3.6% | |
| 6 | Entrance way, lobby | 1 | 3.6% | |
| 7 | Cooking area, kitchen | 1 | 3.6% | |
| 8 | Bathroom, checkroom, lavatory, locker room | 1 | 3.6% | |
| 9 | Vehicle storage area; garage, carport | 1 | 3.6% | |
| 10 | Maintenance shop or area, paint shop or area | 1 | 3.6% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 5 | 17.9% |
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 Lowell mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 21 | 75.0% | |
| 2 | Arcing | 3 | 10.7% | |
| 3 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 2 | 7.1% | |
| 4 | Heat source: other | 1 | 3.6% | |
| 5 | Cigarette lighter | 1 | 3.6% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Lowell departments in 2025. These 6 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $10,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 2 | $8,030 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $6,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 4 | $3,500 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 5 | $2,000 | Off-road vehicle or heavy equipment fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 6 | $1,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Lowell sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 1,969 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2012 | Equipment and vehicle use | 147 | 33.8 mi | |
| 2015 | Power generation/transmission/distribution | 131 | 48.3 mi | |
| 2013 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 130 | 41.7 mi | |
| 1995 | Equipment and vehicle use | 125 | 35.1 mi | |
| 2010 | Debris and open burning | 120 | 45.6 mi | |
| 2018 | Arson/incendiarism | 109 | 44.2 mi | |
| 2019 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 100 | 32.0 mi | |
| 1995 | Debris and open burning | 100 | 43.9 mi | |
| 2014 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 100 | 48.9 mi | |
| 2013 | Recreation and ceremony | 75 | 37.7 mi | |
| 1999 | Power generation/transmission/distribution | 71 | 49.0 mi | |
| 2014 | Equipment and vehicle use | 70 | 20.9 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 Lowell. 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.