In 2025, fire departments serving New Paris responded to 68 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $1.0M 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 62% of all calls.
Feb peaks. Oct dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
335 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2022. $2.8M cumulative property loss. 1 civilian deaths.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 63 | — | |
| 2022 | 75 | +19.0% | |
| 2023 | 60 | -20.0% | |
| 2024 | 69 | +15.0% | |
| 2025 | 68 | -1.4% |
For the 24 building fires New Paris departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 76 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 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 20 | 26.3% | |
| 2 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 17 | 22.4% | |
| 3 | Undetermined | 10 | 13.2% | |
| 4 | Other | 4 | 5.3% | |
| 5 | Machinery room or area; elevator machinery room | 4 | 5.3% | |
| 6 | Vehicle area, other | 3 | 3.9% | |
| 7 | Wildland, woods | 3 | 3.9% | |
| 8 | Chute/container - trash, rubbish, waste | 2 | 2.6% | |
| 9 | Duct: hvac, cable, exhaust, heating, or AC | 2 | 2.6% | |
| 10 | Laundry area, wash house (laundry) | 1 | 1.3% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 10 | 13.2% |
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 Paris mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 33 | 43.4% | |
| 2 | Hot ember or ash | 9 | 11.8% | |
| 3 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 6 | 7.9% | |
| 4 | Heat, spark from friction | 6 | 7.9% | |
| 5 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 5 | 6.6% | |
| 6 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 3 | 3.9% | |
| 7 | Cigarette lighter | 3 | 3.9% | |
| 8 | Chemical reaction | 3 | 3.9% | |
| 9 | Arcing | 2 | 2.6% | |
| 10 | Heat from direct flame, convection currents | 2 | 2.6% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 4 | 5.3% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by New Paris departments in 2025. These 4 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $1,000,000 | Building fires | Major | Investigated |
| 2 | $50,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $30,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 4 | $1,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. New Paris 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 | 47.3 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 Paris. 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.