In 2025, fire departments serving Newtown responded to 21 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $500K building blaze. Here's the full picture.
Gas leak (natural gas or LPG) lead by count. Building fires lead by dollars. Together the top five categories make up about 67% of all calls.
Sep peaks. Dec dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
102 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2021. $996K cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 25 | — | |
| 2022 | 22 | -12.0% | |
| 2023 | 21 | -4.5% | |
| 2024 | 13 | -38.1% | |
| 2025 | 21 | +61.5% |
For the 3 building fires Newtown departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 15 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 | 8 | 53.3% | |
| 2 | Laundry area, wash house (laundry) | 2 | 13.3% | |
| 3 | Outside area, other | 2 | 13.3% | |
| 4 | Function area, other | 1 | 6.7% | |
| 5 | Bedroom - < 5 persons; included are jail or prison | 1 | 6.7% | |
| 6 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 1 | 6.7% |
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 Newtown mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 12 | 80.0% | |
| 2 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 1 | 6.7% | |
| 3 | Hot ember or ash | 1 | 6.7% | |
| 4 | Cigarette | 1 | 6.7% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Newtown departments in 2025. These 2 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $500,000 | Building fires | Major | Investigated |
| 2 | $500 | Cooking fire, confined to container | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Newtown sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 782 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2012 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 125 | 35.2 mi | |
| 2002 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 57 | 19.1 mi | |
| 2010 | Debris and open burning | 53 | 17.1 mi | |
| 2017 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 45 | 37.8 mi | |
| 2004 | Debris and open burning | 45 | 37.3 mi | |
| 2014 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 40 | 43.8 mi | |
| 2004 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 35 | 49.5 mi | |
| 2014 | Debris and open burning | 35 | 48.3 mi | |
| 2001 | Debris and open burning | 30 | 32.6 mi | |
| 1999 | Debris and open burning | 25 | 35.8 mi | |
| 2010 | Debris and open burning | 25 | 14.1 mi | |
| 2010 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 25 | 26.6 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 Newtown. 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.