In 2025, fire departments serving New Madison responded to 44 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 73% of all calls.
Feb peaks. Jun dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
172 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2023. $284K cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021* | 19 | — | |
| 2022 | 38 | — | |
| 2023 | 51 | +34.2% | |
| 2024* | 20 | — | |
| 2025 | 44 | — |
* Well below New Madison's usual volume. That almost always means one or more departments didn't submit a full year to NFIRS, not that fires dropped, so no year-over-year change is shown for it.
For the 23 building fires New Madison departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 42 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 | Outside area, other | 10 | 23.8% | |
| 2 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 5 | 11.9% | |
| 3 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 5 | 11.9% | |
| 4 | Structural area, other | 4 | 9.5% | |
| 5 | Vehicle area, other | 4 | 9.5% | |
| 6 | Other | 2 | 4.8% | |
| 7 | Duct: hvac, cable, exhaust, heating, or AC | 2 | 4.8% | |
| 8 | Fuel tank, fuel line | 2 | 4.8% | |
| 9 | Common room, den, family room, living room, lounge | 1 | 2.4% | |
| 10 | Exterior balcony, unenclosed porch | 1 | 2.4% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 6 | 14.3% |
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 New Madison mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 15 | 35.7% | |
| 2 | Arcing | 8 | 19.0% | |
| 3 | Hot ember or ash | 5 | 11.9% | |
| 4 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 3 | 7.1% | |
| 5 | Flying brand, ember, spark | 3 | 7.1% | |
| 6 | Heat source: other | 2 | 4.8% | |
| 7 | Flame/torch used for lighting | 2 | 4.8% | |
| 8 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 1 | 2.4% | |
| 9 | Heat, spark from friction | 1 | 2.4% | |
| 10 | Heat from other open flame or smoking materials | 1 | 2.4% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 1 | 2.4% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by New Madison departments in 2025. These 5 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $50,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 2 | $22,000 | Fire in motor home, camper, recreational vehicle | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $20,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 4 | $20,000 | Mobile property (vehicle) fire, other | Significant | Investigated |
| 5 | $5,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. New Madison sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 1 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 25 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2002 | Debris and open burning | 25 | 41.2 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 New Madison. 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.