In 2025, fire departments serving North College Hill responded to 69 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $71K 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 69% of all calls.
Jul peaks. Mar dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
481 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2023. $1.0M cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 73 | — | |
| 2022 | 83 | +13.7% | |
| 2023 | 137 | +65.1% | |
| 2024 | 119 | -13.1% | |
| 2025 | 69 | -42.0% |
For the 27 building fires North College Hill departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 131 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 | Cooking area, kitchen | 22 | 16.8% | |
| 2 | Undetermined | 22 | 16.8% | |
| 3 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 17 | 13.0% | |
| 4 | Outside area, other | 16 | 12.2% | |
| 5 | Bedroom - < 5 persons; included are jail or prison | 8 | 6.1% | |
| 6 | Laundry area, wash house (laundry) | 7 | 5.3% | |
| 7 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 6 | 4.6% | |
| 8 | Other | 4 | 3.1% | |
| 9 | Chute/container - trash, rubbish, waste | 3 | 2.3% | |
| 10 | Operator/passenger area of transportation equip. | 3 | 2.3% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 23 | 17.6% |
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 North College Hill mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 56 | 42.7% | |
| 2 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 18 | 13.7% | |
| 3 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 16 | 12.2% | |
| 4 | Arcing | 8 | 6.1% | |
| 5 | Cigarette | 8 | 6.1% | |
| 6 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 5 | 3.8% | |
| 7 | Cigarette lighter | 5 | 3.8% | |
| 8 | Flame/torch used for lighting | 3 | 2.3% | |
| 9 | Fireworks | 2 | 1.5% | |
| 10 | Candle | 2 | 1.5% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 8 | 6.1% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by North College Hill departments in 2025. These 8 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $71,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 2 | $64,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $20,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 4 | $20,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 5 | $10,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 6 | $5,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 7 | $3,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 8 | $1,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. North College Hill sits below the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 3,313 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010 | Arson/incendiarism | 870 | 49.0 mi | |
| 2010 | Arson/incendiarism | 450 | 49.1 mi | |
| 2003 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 300 | 49.3 mi | |
| 2011 | Arson/incendiarism | 280 | 48.1 mi | |
| 2015 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 220 | 49.0 mi | |
| 2001 | Arson/incendiarism | 200 | 49.4 mi | |
| 2012 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 125 | 46.2 mi | |
| 2011 | Arson/incendiarism | 100 | 48.8 mi | |
| 2018 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 74 | 48.9 mi | |
| 2020 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 72 | 49.2 mi | |
| 2016 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 65 | 49.1 mi | |
| 2017 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 65 | 48.8 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 North College Hill. 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.