In 2025, fire departments serving Malvern responded to 28 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $2K 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 75% of all calls.
Sep peaks. Oct dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
149 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2023. $210K cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 27 | — | |
| 2022 | 31 | +14.8% | |
| 2023 | 41 | +32.3% | |
| 2024 | 22 | -46.3% | |
| 2025 | 28 | +27.3% |
For the 12 building fires Malvern departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 55 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 | 14 | 25.5% | |
| 2 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 8 | 14.5% | |
| 3 | Outside area, other | 4 | 7.3% | |
| 4 | Wall surface: exterior | 3 | 5.5% | |
| 5 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 3 | 5.5% | |
| 6 | Courtyard, patio, porch, terrace | 3 | 5.5% | |
| 7 | Cooking area, kitchen | 2 | 3.6% | |
| 8 | Wildland, woods | 2 | 3.6% | |
| 9 | Other | 1 | 1.8% | |
| 10 | Common room, den, family room, living room, lounge | 1 | 1.8% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 14 | 25.5% |
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 Malvern mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 30 | 54.5% | |
| 2 | Arcing | 4 | 7.3% | |
| 3 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 3 | 5.5% | |
| 4 | Heat spread from another fire, other | 3 | 5.5% | |
| 5 | Heat source: other | 2 | 3.6% | |
| 6 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 2 | 3.6% | |
| 7 | Hot ember or ash | 2 | 3.6% | |
| 8 | Match | 2 | 3.6% | |
| 9 | Heat from direct flame, convection currents | 2 | 3.6% | |
| 10 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 1 | 1.8% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 4 | 7.3% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Malvern departments in 2025. These 1 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $2,000 | Fire in mobile prop. used as a fixed struc., other | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Malvern sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 1,064 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2014 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 175 | 7.2 mi | |
| 2013 | Debris and open burning | 106 | 47.9 mi | |
| 2014 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 100 | 40.5 mi | |
| 2003 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 78 | 17.7 mi | |
| 2014 | Debris and open burning | 60 | 6.5 mi | |
| 2014 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 50 | 41.5 mi | |
| 1992 | Arson/incendiarism | 48 | 41.6 mi | |
| 2015 | Arson/incendiarism | 35 | 11.5 mi | |
| 2005 | Debris and open burning | 31 | 27.5 mi | |
| 2005 | Debris and open burning | 30 | 47.7 mi | |
| 2005 | Debris and open burning | 30 | 13.3 mi | |
| 2014 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 30 | 25.4 mi |
Top 1 ZIP codes by NFIRS incident count across 2021–2025. Each ZIP has its own fire profile — dive in for neighborhood-level context.
| # | ZIP | 5-yr incidents | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 44644 | 149 |
Six Ohio cities with population within ±25% of Malvern. 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.