In 2025, fire departments serving Pomeroy responded to 79 fire and hazmat incidents . Here's the full picture.
Building fires lead by count. Building fires lead by dollars. Together the top five categories make up about 71% of all calls.
Dec peaks. Feb dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
498 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2024. $1.3M cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 93 | — | |
| 2022 | 85 | -8.6% | |
| 2023 | 117 | +37.6% | |
| 2024 | 124 | +6.0% | |
| 2025 | 79 | -36.3% |
For the 29 building fires Pomeroy departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 144 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 | 23 | 16.0% | |
| 2 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 19 | 13.2% | |
| 3 | Other | 16 | 11.1% | |
| 4 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 16 | 11.1% | |
| 5 | Wildland, woods | 12 | 8.3% | |
| 6 | Common room, den, family room, living room, lounge | 8 | 5.6% | |
| 7 | Bedroom - < 5 persons; included are jail or prison | 6 | 4.2% | |
| 8 | Cooking area, kitchen | 6 | 4.2% | |
| 9 | Outside area, other | 6 | 4.2% | |
| 10 | Laundry area, wash house (laundry) | 4 | 2.8% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 28 | 19.4% |
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 Pomeroy mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 73 | 50.7% | |
| 2 | Hot ember or ash | 31 | 21.5% | |
| 3 | Arcing | 15 | 10.4% | |
| 4 | Heat source: other | 5 | 3.5% | |
| 5 | Radiated heat from another fire | 4 | 2.8% | |
| 6 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 3 | 2.1% | |
| 7 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 2 | 1.4% | |
| 8 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 2 | 1.4% | |
| 9 | Heat, spark from friction | 2 | 1.4% | |
| 10 | Molten, hot material | 2 | 1.4% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 5 | 3.5% |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Pomeroy sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 5,006 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 | 45.7 mi | |
| 2009 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 310 | 35.2 mi | |
| 2005 | Equipment and vehicle use | 303 | 40.8 mi | |
| 2001 | Arson/incendiarism | 300 | 35.1 mi | |
| 2013 | Arson/incendiarism | 280 | 39.5 mi | |
| 2001 | Debris and open burning | 242 | 49.5 mi | |
| 1999 | Debris and open burning | 201 | 40.1 mi | |
| 2009 | Debris and open burning | 200 | 48.4 mi | |
| 2006 | Arson/incendiarism | 200 | 40.2 mi | |
| 2009 | Debris and open burning | 200 | 45.1 mi | |
| 2009 | Arson/incendiarism | 197 | 35.2 mi | |
| 2001 | Debris and open burning | 195 | 48.9 mi |
Top 4 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 Pomeroy. 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.