In 2025, fire departments serving Pickerington responded to 131 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $250K 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 66% of all calls.
Feb peaks. Jun dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
841 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2022. $5.1M cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 163 | — | |
| 2022 | 204 | +25.2% | |
| 2023 | 161 | -21.1% | |
| 2024 | 182 | +13.0% | |
| 2025 | 131 | -28.0% |
For the 18 building fires Pickerington departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 165 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 | 31 | 18.8% | |
| 2 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 25 | 15.2% | |
| 3 | Cooking area, kitchen | 18 | 10.9% | |
| 4 | Courtyard, patio, porch, terrace | 13 | 7.9% | |
| 5 | Vehicle storage area; garage, carport | 10 | 6.1% | |
| 6 | Wall assembly | 7 | 4.2% | |
| 7 | Laundry area, wash house (laundry) | 6 | 3.6% | |
| 8 | Wall surface: exterior | 5 | 3.0% | |
| 9 | Exterior, exposed surface | 5 | 3.0% | |
| 10 | Highway, parking lot, street: on or near | 5 | 3.0% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 40 | 24.2% |
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 Pickerington mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 70 | 42.4% | |
| 2 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 15 | 9.1% | |
| 3 | Arcing | 13 | 7.9% | |
| 4 | Hot ember or ash | 13 | 7.9% | |
| 5 | Cigarette | 9 | 5.5% | |
| 6 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 7 | 4.2% | |
| 7 | Heat from direct flame, convection currents | 7 | 4.2% | |
| 8 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 4 | 2.4% | |
| 9 | Heat, spark from friction | 3 | 1.8% | |
| 10 | Cigarette lighter | 3 | 1.8% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 21 | 12.7% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Pickerington departments in 2025. These 8 fires alone account for 97% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $250,000 | Building fires | Major | Investigated |
| 2 | $200,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $100,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 4 | $75,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 5 | $20,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 6 | $20,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 7 | $10,000 | Dumpster or other outside trash receptacle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 8 | $10,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Pickerington sits below the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 1,698 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 355 | 35.0 mi | |
| 2013 | Arson/incendiarism | 280 | 38.6 mi | |
| 2013 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 150 | 48.3 mi | |
| 2015 | Power generation/transmission/distribution | 131 | 45.4 mi | |
| 2010 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 90 | 43.9 mi | |
| 2013 | Power generation/transmission/distribution | 53 | 38.5 mi | |
| 2015 | Debris and open burning | 50 | 18.4 mi | |
| 2015 | Debris and open burning | 50 | 33.4 mi | |
| 2015 | Arson/incendiarism | 50 | 38.0 mi | |
| 2014 | Debris and open burning | 50 | 39.2 mi | |
| 2010 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 46 | 43.1 mi | |
| 2003 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 35 | 21.3 mi |
Top 3 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 Pickerington. 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.