In 2025, fire departments serving Norton responded to 116 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $250K building blaze. Here's the full picture.
Power line down lead by count. Building fires lead by dollars. Together the top five categories make up about 77% of all calls.
May peaks. Jan dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
562 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2023. $935K cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 122 | — | |
| 2022 | 120 | -1.6% | |
| 2023 | 123 | +2.5% | |
| 2024 | 81 | -34.1% | |
| 2025 | 116 | +43.2% |
For the 6 building fires Norton departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 66 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 | 38 | 57.6% | |
| 2 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 5 | 7.6% | |
| 3 | Cooking area, kitchen | 4 | 6.1% | |
| 4 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 4 | 6.1% | |
| 5 | Vehicle storage area; garage, carport | 3 | 4.5% | |
| 6 | Common room, den, family room, living room, lounge | 2 | 3.0% | |
| 7 | Storage room, area, tank, or bin | 2 | 3.0% | |
| 8 | Outside area, other | 2 | 3.0% | |
| 9 | Wildland, woods | 2 | 3.0% | |
| 10 | Laundry area, wash house (laundry) | 1 | 1.5% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 3 | 4.5% |
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 Norton mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 45 | 68.2% | |
| 2 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 5 | 7.6% | |
| 3 | Hot ember or ash | 3 | 4.5% | |
| 4 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 2 | 3.0% | |
| 5 | Cigarette lighter | 2 | 3.0% | |
| 6 | Heat source: other | 1 | 1.5% | |
| 7 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 1 | 1.5% | |
| 8 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 1 | 1.5% | |
| 9 | Explosive, fireworks, other | 1 | 1.5% | |
| 10 | Fireworks | 1 | 1.5% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 4 | 6.1% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Norton departments in 2025. These 6 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $250,000 | Building fires | Major | Investigated |
| 2 | $15,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $10,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 4 | $10,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 5 | $8,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 6 | $1,000 | Outside rubbish, trash or waste fire | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Norton sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 1,275 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2003 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 400 | 47.5 mi | |
| 2014 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 175 | 38.6 mi | |
| 2015 | Debris and open burning | 171 | 41.9 mi | |
| 2003 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 78 | 45.0 mi | |
| 2014 | Debris and open burning | 60 | 37.0 mi | |
| 2015 | Arson/incendiarism | 35 | 42.4 mi | |
| 2005 | Debris and open burning | 30 | 45.5 mi | |
| 2005 | Debris and open burning | 30 | 21.0 mi | |
| 2002 | Recreation and ceremony | 25 | 17.7 mi | |
| 2013 | Debris and open burning | 25 | 36.2 mi | |
| 2014 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 22 | 36.6 mi | |
| 2019 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 20 | 37.4 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 | 44203 | 562 |
Six Ohio cities with population within ±25% of Norton. 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.