In 2025, fire departments serving New Middletown responded to 18 fire and hazmat incidents . Here's the full picture.
Building fires lead by count. Building fires lead by dollars. Together the top five categories make up about 83% of all calls.
Jan peaks. Feb dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
89 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2023. $71K cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 18 | — | |
| 2022 | 17 | -5.6% | |
| 2023 | 20 | +17.6% | |
| 2024 | 16 | -20.0% | |
| 2025 | 18 | +12.5% |
For the 5 building fires New Middletown departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 26 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 | 6 | 23.1% | |
| 2 | Cooking area, kitchen | 3 | 11.5% | |
| 3 | Common room, den, family room, living room, lounge | 2 | 7.7% | |
| 4 | Storage area, other | 2 | 7.7% | |
| 5 | Structural area, other | 2 | 7.7% | |
| 6 | Exterior, exposed surface | 2 | 7.7% | |
| 7 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 2 | 7.7% | |
| 8 | Other | 1 | 3.8% | |
| 9 | Function area, other | 1 | 3.8% | |
| 10 | Wall surface: exterior | 1 | 3.8% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 4 | 15.4% |
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 New Middletown mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 12 | 46.2% | |
| 2 | Match | 4 | 15.4% | |
| 3 | Heat from other open flame or smoking materials | 2 | 7.7% | |
| 4 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 1 | 3.8% | |
| 5 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 1 | 3.8% | |
| 6 | Hot ember or ash | 1 | 3.8% | |
| 7 | Cigarette lighter | 1 | 3.8% | |
| 8 | Flame/torch used for lighting | 1 | 3.8% | |
| 9 | Heat spread from another fire, other | 1 | 3.8% | |
| 10 | Heat from direct flame, convection currents | 1 | 3.8% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 1 | 3.8% |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. New Middletown sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 1,366 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2003 | Debris and open burning | 342 | 44.2 mi | |
| 2014 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 175 | 42.3 mi | |
| 2013 | Debris and open burning | 106 | 13.2 mi | |
| 2003 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 78 | 20.7 mi | |
| 2014 | Debris and open burning | 60 | 42.8 mi | |
| 1992 | Arson/incendiarism | 48 | 43.2 mi | |
| 2016 | Debris and open burning | 47 | 39.5 mi | |
| 2006 | Debris and open burning | 45 | 42.7 mi | |
| 2003 | Debris and open burning | 41 | 38.7 mi | |
| 2006 | Equipment and vehicle use | 38 | 36.8 mi | |
| 2015 | Arson/incendiarism | 35 | 27.9 mi | |
| 2005 | Debris and open burning | 30 | 40.6 mi |
Top 1 ZIP codes by NFIRS incident count across 2021–2025. Each ZIP has its own fire profile — dive in for neighborhood-level context.
| # | ZIP | 5-yr incidents | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 44442 | 89 |
Six Ohio cities with population within ±25% of New Middletown. 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.