In 2025, fire departments serving New Waterford responded to 13 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $1K building blaze. Here's the full picture.
Brush, or brush and grass mixture fire lead by count. Building fires lead by dollars. Together the top five categories make up about 69% of all calls.
Nov peaks. Feb dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
106 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2024. $13K cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 23 | — | |
| 2022 | 22 | -4.3% | |
| 2023 | 23 | +4.5% | |
| 2024 | 25 | +8.7% | |
| 2025 | 13 | -48.0% |
For the 2 building fires New Waterford departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 23 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 | 5 | 21.7% | |
| 2 | Cooking area, kitchen | 2 | 8.7% | |
| 3 | Heating room or area, water heater area | 2 | 8.7% | |
| 4 | Wall surface: exterior | 2 | 8.7% | |
| 5 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 2 | 8.7% | |
| 6 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 2 | 8.7% | |
| 7 | Other | 1 | 4.3% | |
| 8 | Common room, den, family room, living room, lounge | 1 | 4.3% | |
| 9 | Laundry area, wash house (laundry) | 1 | 4.3% | |
| 10 | Storage area, other | 1 | 4.3% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 4 | 17.4% |
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 Waterford mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 8 | 34.8% | |
| 2 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 5 | 21.7% | |
| 3 | Hot ember or ash | 3 | 13.0% | |
| 4 | Heat source: other | 2 | 8.7% | |
| 5 | Flying brand, ember, spark | 2 | 8.7% | |
| 6 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 1 | 4.3% | |
| 7 | Heat from other open flame or smoking materials | 1 | 4.3% | |
| 8 | Flame/torch used for lighting | 1 | 4.3% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by New Waterford departments in 2025. These 1 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $1,000 | Natural vegetation fire, other | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. New Waterford sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 1,041 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2014 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 175 | 35.2 mi | |
| 2013 | Debris and open burning | 106 | 16.6 mi | |
| 2003 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 78 | 13.7 mi | |
| 2014 | Debris and open burning | 60 | 35.8 mi | |
| 1992 | Arson/incendiarism | 48 | 35.4 mi | |
| 2016 | Debris and open burning | 47 | 47.2 mi | |
| 2006 | Debris and open burning | 45 | 47.7 mi | |
| 2003 | Debris and open burning | 41 | 45.1 mi | |
| 2006 | Equipment and vehicle use | 38 | 43.5 mi | |
| 2015 | Arson/incendiarism | 35 | 20.7 mi | |
| 2005 | Debris and open burning | 31 | 41.7 mi | |
| 2005 | Debris and open burning | 30 | 36.7 mi |
Top 2 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 Waterford. 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.