In 2025, fire departments serving Parma Heights responded to 187 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $275K 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 75% of all calls.
Jun peaks. Feb dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
1,157 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2024. $761K cumulative property loss. 1 civilian deaths.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 209 | — | |
| 2022 | 204 | -2.4% | |
| 2023 | 210 | +2.9% | |
| 2024 | 347 | +65.2% | |
| 2025 | 187 | -46.1% |
For the 12 building fires Parma Heights departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 105 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 | 31 | 29.5% | |
| 2 | Outside area, other | 27 | 25.7% | |
| 3 | Highway, parking lot, street: on or near | 7 | 6.7% | |
| 4 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 7 | 6.7% | |
| 5 | Vehicle storage area; garage, carport | 4 | 3.8% | |
| 6 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 4 | 3.8% | |
| 7 | Vehicle area, other | 3 | 2.9% | |
| 8 | Wildland, woods | 3 | 2.9% | |
| 9 | Undetermined | 3 | 2.9% | |
| 10 | Function area, other | 2 | 1.9% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 14 | 13.3% |
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 Parma Heights mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 46 | 43.8% | |
| 2 | Heat source: other | 11 | 10.5% | |
| 3 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 11 | 10.5% | |
| 4 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 8 | 7.6% | |
| 5 | Hot ember or ash | 7 | 6.7% | |
| 6 | Cigarette | 4 | 3.8% | |
| 7 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 3 | 2.9% | |
| 8 | Candle | 2 | 1.9% | |
| 9 | Chemical reaction | 2 | 1.9% | |
| 10 | Heat from direct flame, convection currents | 2 | 1.9% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 9 | 8.6% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Parma Heights departments in 2025. These 8 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $275,000 | Building fires | Major | Investigated |
| 2 | $150,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $50,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 4 | $20,000 | Fires in structures other than in a building | Significant | Investigated |
| 5 | $14,500 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 6 | $350 | Outside equipment fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 7 | $300 | Outside equipment fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 8 | $200 | Cooking fire, confined to container | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Parma Heights sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 8 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 545 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 | 29.5 mi | |
| 2005 | Debris and open burning | 30 | 43.6 mi | |
| 2002 | Recreation and ceremony | 25 | 37.1 mi | |
| 2019 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 20 | 43.7 mi | |
| 2020 | Debris and open burning | 20 | 44.5 mi | |
| 2020 | Debris and open burning | 20 | 39.5 mi | |
| 2002 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 20 | 40.5 mi | |
| 2020 | Debris and open burning | 10 | 39.0 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 Parma Heights. 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.