In 2025, fire departments serving Mount Orab responded to 89 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $200K building blaze. Here's the full picture.
Gas leak (natural gas or LPG) lead by count. Building fires lead by dollars. Together the top five categories make up about 66% of all calls.
Jan peaks. Aug dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
435 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2022. $1.7M cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 55 | — | |
| 2022 | 98 | +78.2% | |
| 2023 | 96 | -2.0% | |
| 2024 | 97 | +1.0% | |
| 2025 | 89 | -8.2% |
For the 12 building fires Mount Orab departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 106 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 | 24 | 22.6% | |
| 2 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 13 | 12.3% | |
| 3 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 12 | 11.3% | |
| 4 | Cooking area, kitchen | 6 | 5.7% | |
| 5 | Other | 5 | 4.7% | |
| 6 | Outside area, other | 5 | 4.7% | |
| 7 | Vehicle storage area; garage, carport | 4 | 3.8% | |
| 8 | Bedroom - < 5 persons; included are jail or prison | 3 | 2.8% | |
| 9 | Dining room, cafeteria bar area, beverage service | 3 | 2.8% | |
| 10 | Fuel tank, fuel line | 3 | 2.8% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 28 | 26.4% |
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 Mount Orab mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 66 | 62.3% | |
| 2 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 10 | 9.4% | |
| 3 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 4 | 3.8% | |
| 4 | Arcing | 3 | 2.8% | |
| 5 | Hot ember or ash | 3 | 2.8% | |
| 6 | Match | 3 | 2.8% | |
| 7 | Heat source: other | 2 | 1.9% | |
| 8 | Molten, hot material | 2 | 1.9% | |
| 9 | Lightning | 2 | 1.9% | |
| 10 | Heat from direct flame, convection currents | 2 | 1.9% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 9 | 8.5% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Mount Orab departments in 2025. These 8 fires alone account for 89% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $200,000 | Camper or recreational vehicle (RV) fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 2 | $30,000 | Fires in structures other than in a building | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $25,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 4 | $10,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 5 | $10,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 6 | $10,000 | Off-road vehicle or heavy equipment fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 7 | $10,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 8 | $10,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Mount Orab sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 8,454 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2009 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 2,865 | 45.9 mi | |
| 2003 | Debris and open burning | 1,016 | 42.1 mi | |
| 1999 | Debris and open burning | 1,000 | 44.8 mi | |
| 2010 | Debris and open burning | 591 | 39.9 mi | |
| 2017 | Arson/incendiarism | 390 | 44.4 mi | |
| 2005 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 366 | 46.8 mi | |
| 2015 | Recreation and ceremony | 332 | 45.9 mi | |
| 2010 | Debris and open burning | 300 | 46.2 mi | |
| 2009 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 151 | 41.2 mi | |
| 2009 | Recreation and ceremony | 150 | 42.8 mi | |
| 2010 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 130 | 40.1 mi | |
| 2012 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 125 | 14.5 mi |
Top 3 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 Mount Orab. 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.