In 2025, fire departments serving Piketon responded to 86 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $60K 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 62% of all calls.
Mar peaks. Dec dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
566 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2022. $908K cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 129 | — | |
| 2022 | 142 | +10.1% | |
| 2023 | 119 | -16.2% | |
| 2024 | 90 | -24.4% | |
| 2025 | 86 | -4.4% |
For the 22 building fires Piketon departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 190 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 | 108 | 56.8% | |
| 2 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 15 | 7.9% | |
| 3 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 12 | 6.3% | |
| 4 | Outside area, other | 7 | 3.7% | |
| 5 | Common room, den, family room, living room, lounge | 5 | 2.6% | |
| 6 | Other | 4 | 2.1% | |
| 7 | Laundry area, wash house (laundry) | 4 | 2.1% | |
| 8 | Storage area, other | 4 | 2.1% | |
| 9 | Heating room or area, water heater area | 3 | 1.6% | |
| 10 | Wall surface: exterior | 3 | 1.6% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 25 | 13.2% |
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 Piketon mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 142 | 74.7% | |
| 2 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 15 | 7.9% | |
| 3 | Hot ember or ash | 7 | 3.7% | |
| 4 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 4 | 2.1% | |
| 5 | Match | 4 | 2.1% | |
| 6 | Cigarette lighter | 4 | 2.1% | |
| 7 | Heat source: other | 3 | 1.6% | |
| 8 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 2 | 1.1% | |
| 9 | Heat, spark from friction | 2 | 1.1% | |
| 10 | Heat from direct flame, convection currents | 2 | 1.1% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 5 | 2.6% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Piketon departments in 2025. These 2 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $60,000 | Fire in motor home, camper, recreational vehicle | Significant | Investigated |
| 2 | $4,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Piketon sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 12,327 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2009 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 2,865 | 28.4 mi | |
| 2003 | Debris and open burning | 1,016 | 19.5 mi | |
| 1999 | Debris and open burning | 1,000 | 38.2 mi | |
| 2005 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 650 | 48.7 mi | |
| 2010 | Debris and open burning | 591 | 41.1 mi | |
| 2016 | Debris and open burning | 476 | 24.0 mi | |
| 2002 | Debris and open burning | 450 | 27.0 mi | |
| 2000 | Recreation and ceremony | 400 | 24.7 mi | |
| 2017 | Arson/incendiarism | 390 | 32.2 mi | |
| 2005 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 366 | 34.2 mi | |
| 2010 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 355 | 25.6 mi | |
| 2015 | Recreation and ceremony | 332 | 39.8 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 Piketon. 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.