In 2025, fire departments serving Minerva responded to 66 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $75K building blaze. Here's the full picture.
Power line down lead by count. Building fires lead by dollars. Together the top five categories make up about 61% of all calls.
Aug peaks. Jun dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
446 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2021. $1.1M cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 114 | — | |
| 2022 | 81 | -28.9% | |
| 2023 | 85 | +4.9% | |
| 2024 | 100 | +17.6% | |
| 2025 | 66 | -34.0% |
For the 9 building fires Minerva departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 138 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 | 38 | 27.5% | |
| 2 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 22 | 15.9% | |
| 3 | Outside area, other | 15 | 10.9% | |
| 4 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 8 | 5.8% | |
| 5 | Cooking area, kitchen | 6 | 4.3% | |
| 6 | Wildland, woods | 6 | 4.3% | |
| 7 | Processing/manufacturing area, workroom | 4 | 2.9% | |
| 8 | Exterior balcony, unenclosed porch | 3 | 2.2% | |
| 9 | Vehicle area, other | 3 | 2.2% | |
| 10 | Other | 2 | 1.4% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 31 | 22.5% |
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 Minerva mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 77 | 55.8% | |
| 2 | Hot ember or ash | 12 | 8.7% | |
| 3 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 7 | 5.1% | |
| 4 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 5 | 3.6% | |
| 5 | Heat source: other | 4 | 2.9% | |
| 6 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 4 | 2.9% | |
| 7 | Arcing | 4 | 2.9% | |
| 8 | Molten, hot material | 3 | 2.2% | |
| 9 | Cigarette | 3 | 2.2% | |
| 10 | Cigarette lighter | 3 | 2.2% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 16 | 11.6% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Minerva departments in 2025. These 6 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $75,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 2 | $35,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $12,800 | Fire in mobile home used as fixed residence | Significant | Investigated |
| 4 | $7,500 | Fire in motor home, camper, recreational vehicle | Significant | Investigated |
| 5 | $5,000 | Fire, other | Significant | Investigated |
| 6 | $2,500 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Minerva sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 1,051 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 | 11.1 mi | |
| 2013 | Debris and open burning | 106 | 43.1 mi | |
| 2014 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 100 | 45.2 mi | |
| 2003 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 78 | 13.0 mi | |
| 2014 | Debris and open burning | 60 | 10.9 mi | |
| 2014 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 50 | 46.4 mi | |
| 1992 | Arson/incendiarism | 48 | 40.2 mi | |
| 2015 | Arson/incendiarism | 35 | 7.7 mi | |
| 2005 | Debris and open burning | 31 | 29.1 mi | |
| 2005 | Debris and open burning | 30 | 14.1 mi | |
| 2014 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 30 | 23.6 mi | |
| 2016 | Debris and open burning | 30 | 36.7 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 Minerva. 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.