In 2025, fire departments serving Parma responded to 46 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $100K 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 61% of all calls.
Jan peaks. Dec dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
305 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2022. $300K cumulative property loss. 1 civilian deaths.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 59 | — | |
| 2022 | 83 | +40.7% | |
| 2023 | 60 | -27.7% | |
| 2024 | 57 | -5.0% | |
| 2025 | 46 | -19.3% |
For the 8 building fires Parma departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 96 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 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 20 | 20.8% | |
| 2 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 20 | 20.8% | |
| 3 | Outside area, other | 14 | 14.6% | |
| 4 | Undetermined | 8 | 8.3% | |
| 5 | Vehicle area, other | 5 | 5.2% | |
| 6 | Wildland, woods | 5 | 5.2% | |
| 7 | Other | 4 | 4.2% | |
| 8 | Cooking area, kitchen | 4 | 4.2% | |
| 9 | Highway, parking lot, street: on or near | 3 | 3.1% | |
| 10 | Vehicle storage area; garage, carport | 2 | 2.1% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 11 | 11.5% |
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 Parma mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 44 | 45.8% | |
| 2 | Match | 12 | 12.5% | |
| 3 | Hot ember or ash | 11 | 11.5% | |
| 4 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 4 | 4.2% | |
| 5 | Heat from other open flame or smoking materials | 4 | 4.2% | |
| 6 | Heat source: other | 3 | 3.1% | |
| 7 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 3 | 3.1% | |
| 8 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 3 | 3.1% | |
| 9 | Arcing | 2 | 2.1% | |
| 10 | Heat, spark from friction | 2 | 2.1% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 8 | 8.3% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Parma departments in 2025. These 7 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $100,000 | Road freight or transport vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 2 | $50,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $10,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 4 | $2,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 5 | $1,500 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 6 | $1,000 | Off-road vehicle or heavy equipment fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 7 | $300 | Off-road vehicle or heavy equipment fire | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Parma sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 1,812 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2014 | Debris and open burning | 154 | 38.1 mi | |
| 2020 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 143 | 38.2 mi | |
| 1996 | Arson/incendiarism | 142 | 23.1 mi | |
| 1996 | Equipment and vehicle use | 119 | 43.5 mi | |
| 2018 | Natural | 105 | 22.6 mi | |
| 2018 | Equipment and vehicle use | 100 | 39.4 mi | |
| 1996 | Debris and open burning | 98 | 27.0 mi | |
| 1996 | Arson/incendiarism | 96 | 17.7 mi | |
| 1996 | Debris and open burning | 80 | 41.7 mi | |
| 2003 | Equipment and vehicle use | 70 | 32.7 mi | |
| 1994 | Debris and open burning | 60 | 41.9 mi | |
| 2015 | Debris and open burning | 57 | 43.0 mi |
Top 2 ZIP codes by NFIRS incident count across 2021–2025. Each ZIP has its own fire profile — dive in for neighborhood-level context.
Six Michigan cities with population within ±25% of Parma. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
1 departments report to NFIRS for incidents in Parma.
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.