In 2025, fire departments serving Oak Harbor responded to 88 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $50K 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 63% of all calls.
Apr peaks. Dec dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
470 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2022. $1.9M cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 75 | — | |
| 2022 | 116 | +54.7% | |
| 2023 | 88 | -24.1% | |
| 2024 | 103 | +17.0% | |
| 2025 | 88 | -14.6% |
For the 16 building fires Oak Harbor departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 136 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 | 33 | 24.3% | |
| 2 | Outside area, other | 26 | 19.1% | |
| 3 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 16 | 11.8% | |
| 4 | Other | 8 | 5.9% | |
| 5 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 8 | 5.9% | |
| 6 | Common room, den, family room, living room, lounge | 5 | 3.7% | |
| 7 | Cooking area, kitchen | 5 | 3.7% | |
| 8 | Vehicle area, other | 5 | 3.7% | |
| 9 | Storage room, area, tank, or bin | 3 | 2.2% | |
| 10 | Equipment or service area, other | 3 | 2.2% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 24 | 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 Oak Harbor mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 50 | 36.8% | |
| 2 | Hot ember or ash | 23 | 16.9% | |
| 3 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 11 | 8.1% | |
| 4 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 11 | 8.1% | |
| 5 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 8 | 5.9% | |
| 6 | Arcing | 7 | 5.1% | |
| 7 | Heat spread from another fire, other | 4 | 2.9% | |
| 8 | Flying brand, ember, spark | 4 | 2.9% | |
| 9 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 3 | 2.2% | |
| 10 | Flame/torch used for lighting | 3 | 2.2% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 12 | 8.8% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Oak Harbor departments in 2025. These 8 fires alone account for 98% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $50,000 | Mobile property (vehicle) fire, other | Significant | Investigated |
| 2 | $40,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $35,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 4 | $30,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 5 | $20,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 6 | $20,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 7 | $10,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 8 | $10,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Oak Harbor sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 14 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 681 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2019 | Debris and open burning | 300 | 34.7 mi | |
| 2019 | Equipment and vehicle use | 80 | 36.6 mi | |
| 2005 | Debris and open burning | 77 | 43.7 mi | |
| 2010 | Arson/incendiarism | 69 | 23.5 mi | |
| 2010 | Arson/incendiarism | 42 | 36.8 mi | |
| 2017 | Debris and open burning | 22 | 34.2 mi | |
| 2005 | Debris and open burning | 20 | 48.6 mi | |
| 2015 | Debris and open burning | 11 | 41.7 mi | |
| 2013 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 10 | 3.6 mi | |
| 2015 | Debris and open burning | 10 | 39.1 mi | |
| 2016 | Debris and open burning | 10 | 35.1 mi | |
| 2018 | Equipment and vehicle use | 10 | 32.3 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 Oak Harbor. 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.