In 2025, fire departments serving New Lexington responded to 64 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $50K 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 70% of all calls.
Jun peaks. Feb dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
465 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2024. $655K cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 89 | — | |
| 2022 | 111 | +24.7% | |
| 2023 | 69 | -37.8% | |
| 2024 | 132 | +91.3% | |
| 2025 | 64 | -51.5% |
For the 21 building fires New Lexington departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 133 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 | 34 | 25.6% | |
| 2 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 12 | 9.0% | |
| 3 | Outside area, other | 12 | 9.0% | |
| 4 | Cooking area, kitchen | 8 | 6.0% | |
| 5 | Other | 7 | 5.3% | |
| 6 | Operator/passenger area of transportation equip. | 6 | 4.5% | |
| 7 | Vehicle storage area; garage, carport | 5 | 3.8% | |
| 8 | Vehicle area, other | 5 | 3.8% | |
| 9 | Laundry area, wash house (laundry) | 4 | 3.0% | |
| 10 | Storage room, area, tank, or bin | 4 | 3.0% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 36 | 27.1% |
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 New Lexington mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 79 | 59.4% | |
| 2 | Arcing | 11 | 8.3% | |
| 3 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 9 | 6.8% | |
| 4 | Hot ember or ash | 6 | 4.5% | |
| 5 | Heat source: other | 4 | 3.0% | |
| 6 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 4 | 3.0% | |
| 7 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 4 | 3.0% | |
| 8 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 4 | 3.0% | |
| 9 | Heat, spark from friction | 2 | 1.5% | |
| 10 | Heat from other open flame or smoking materials | 2 | 1.5% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 8 | 6.0% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by New Lexington departments in 2025. These 8 fires alone account for 95% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $50,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 2 | $20,000 | Fire in mobile home used as fixed residence | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $15,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 4 | $15,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 5 | $10,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 6 | $10,000 | Fire in mobile home used as fixed residence | Significant | Investigated |
| 7 | $10,000 | Fires in structures other than in a building | Significant | Investigated |
| 8 | $3,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. New Lexington sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 2,041 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 355 | 37.1 mi | |
| 2013 | Arson/incendiarism | 280 | 35.3 mi | |
| 2013 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 150 | 39.4 mi | |
| 2015 | Power generation/transmission/distribution | 131 | 29.3 mi | |
| 2012 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 100 | 45.1 mi | |
| 2014 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 100 | 46.0 mi | |
| 2010 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 90 | 41.7 mi | |
| 2013 | Recreation and ceremony | 75 | 37.1 mi | |
| 2020 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 60 | 40.8 mi | |
| 2013 | Power generation/transmission/distribution | 53 | 13.1 mi | |
| 2014 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 50 | 49.0 mi | |
| 2015 | Debris and open burning | 50 | 15.1 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 New Lexington. 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.