In 2025, fire departments serving Middlefield responded to 208 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $500K 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.
Nov peaks. Jun dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
1,028 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2024. $4.1M cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 200 | — | |
| 2022 | 193 | -3.5% | |
| 2023 | 191 | -1.0% | |
| 2024 | 236 | +23.6% | |
| 2025 | 208 | -11.9% |
For the 60 building fires Middlefield departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 99 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 | 14.1% | |
| 2 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 11 | 11.1% | |
| 3 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 11 | 11.1% | |
| 4 | Other | 9 | 9.1% | |
| 5 | Processing/manufacturing area, workroom | 6 | 6.1% | |
| 6 | Outside area, other | 6 | 6.1% | |
| 7 | Storage area, other | 4 | 4.0% | |
| 8 | Wildland, woods | 4 | 4.0% | |
| 9 | Common room, den, family room, living room, lounge | 3 | 3.0% | |
| 10 | Cooking area, kitchen | 3 | 3.0% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 28 | 28.3% |
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 Middlefield mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 33 | 33.3% | |
| 2 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 9 | 9.1% | |
| 3 | Hot ember or ash | 9 | 9.1% | |
| 4 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 8 | 8.1% | |
| 5 | Heat source: other | 7 | 7.1% | |
| 6 | Arcing | 6 | 6.1% | |
| 7 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 4 | 4.0% | |
| 8 | Cigarette | 4 | 4.0% | |
| 9 | Flame/torch used for lighting | 3 | 3.0% | |
| 10 | Heat spread from another fire, other | 3 | 3.0% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 13 | 13.1% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Middlefield departments in 2025. These 8 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $500,000 | Building fires | Major | Investigated |
| 2 | $250,000 | Building fires | Major | Investigated |
| 3 | $150,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 4 | $40,000 | Off-road vehicle or heavy equipment fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 5 | $20,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 6 | $15,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 7 | $2,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 8 | $500 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Middlefield sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 9 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 622 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2003 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 400 | 21.0 mi | |
| 2003 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 78 | 49.2 mi | |
| 2005 | Debris and open burning | 30 | 44.1 mi | |
| 2016 | Debris and open burning | 30 | 45.2 mi | |
| 2014 | Debris and open burning | 22 | 49.5 mi | |
| 2002 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 20 | 18.1 mi | |
| 2018 | Debris and open burning | 16 | 47.7 mi | |
| 2020 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 15 | 47.2 mi | |
| 2019 | Arson/incendiarism | 11 | 49.6 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 Middlefield. 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.