In 2025, fire departments serving Oberlin responded to 108 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $34K 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 55% of all calls.
Jul peaks. Dec dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
591 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2022. $1.2M cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 109 | — | |
| 2022 | 129 | +18.3% | |
| 2023 | 118 | -8.5% | |
| 2024 | 127 | +7.6% | |
| 2025 | 108 | -15.0% |
For the 2 building fires Oberlin departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 134 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 | 20 | 14.9% | |
| 2 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 20 | 14.9% | |
| 3 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 18 | 13.4% | |
| 4 | Outside area, other | 16 | 11.9% | |
| 5 | Undetermined | 11 | 8.2% | |
| 6 | Highway, parking lot, street: on or near | 5 | 3.7% | |
| 7 | Other | 3 | 2.2% | |
| 8 | Bedroom - < 5 persons; included are jail or prison | 3 | 2.2% | |
| 9 | Storage area, other | 3 | 2.2% | |
| 10 | Equipment or service area, other | 3 | 2.2% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 32 | 23.9% |
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 Oberlin mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 67 | 50.0% | |
| 2 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 16 | 11.9% | |
| 3 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 8 | 6.0% | |
| 4 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 8 | 6.0% | |
| 5 | Hot ember or ash | 7 | 5.2% | |
| 6 | Arcing | 5 | 3.7% | |
| 7 | Heat source: other | 4 | 3.0% | |
| 8 | Heat from direct flame, convection currents | 4 | 3.0% | |
| 9 | Cigarette lighter | 3 | 2.2% | |
| 10 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 2 | 1.5% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 10 | 7.5% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Oberlin departments in 2025. These 5 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $34,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 2 | $14,000 | Fire in motor home, camper, recreational vehicle | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $5,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 4 | $2,500 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 5 | $500 | Road freight or transport vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Oberlin sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 7 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 276 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2015 | Debris and open burning | 171 | 41.1 mi | |
| 2002 | Recreation and ceremony | 25 | 33.8 mi | |
| 2019 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 20 | 25.2 mi | |
| 2020 | Debris and open burning | 20 | 23.8 mi | |
| 2020 | Debris and open burning | 20 | 25.0 mi | |
| 2020 | Debris and open burning | 10 | 24.5 mi | |
| 2013 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 10 | 46.9 mi |
Top 5 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 Oberlin. 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.