In 2025, fire departments serving Port Clinton responded to 75 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $450K 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 60% of all calls.
Jul peaks. Jan dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
380 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2024. $1.9M cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 56 | — | |
| 2022 | 55 | -1.8% | |
| 2023 | 87 | +58.2% | |
| 2024 | 107 | +23.0% | |
| 2025 | 75 | -29.9% |
For the 13 building fires Port Clinton departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 91 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 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 14 | 15.4% | |
| 2 | Outside area, other | 10 | 11.0% | |
| 3 | Wall surface: exterior | 8 | 8.8% | |
| 4 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 7 | 7.7% | |
| 5 | Undetermined | 7 | 7.7% | |
| 6 | Storage room, area, tank, or bin | 5 | 5.5% | |
| 7 | Exterior balcony, unenclosed porch | 4 | 4.4% | |
| 8 | Cargo/trunk area - all vehicles | 4 | 4.4% | |
| 9 | Highway, parking lot, street: on or near | 4 | 4.4% | |
| 10 | Cooking area, kitchen | 3 | 3.3% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 25 | 27.5% |
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 Port Clinton mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 39 | 42.9% | |
| 2 | Hot ember or ash | 8 | 8.8% | |
| 3 | Arcing | 6 | 6.6% | |
| 4 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 4 | 4.4% | |
| 5 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 4 | 4.4% | |
| 6 | Cigarette lighter | 4 | 4.4% | |
| 7 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 3 | 3.3% | |
| 8 | Match | 3 | 3.3% | |
| 9 | Flame/torch used for lighting | 3 | 3.3% | |
| 10 | Heat source: other | 2 | 2.2% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 15 | 16.5% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Port Clinton departments in 2025. These 8 fires alone account for 99% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $450,000 | Building fires | Major | Investigated |
| 2 | $150,000 | Building or structure weakened or collapsed | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $15,000 | Fire in portable building, fixed location | Significant | Investigated |
| 4 | $13,000 | Outside equipment fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 5 | $10,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 6 | $10,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 7 | $10,000 | Fire in mobile home used as fixed residence | Significant | Investigated |
| 8 | $5,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Port Clinton sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 11 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 593 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2019 | Debris and open burning | 300 | 37.6 mi | |
| 2019 | Equipment and vehicle use | 80 | 43.2 mi | |
| 2010 | Arson/incendiarism | 69 | 32.1 mi | |
| 2010 | Arson/incendiarism | 42 | 39.2 mi | |
| 2017 | Debris and open burning | 22 | 44.6 mi | |
| 2019 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 20 | 50.0 mi | |
| 2020 | Debris and open burning | 20 | 45.5 mi | |
| 2013 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 10 | 7.9 mi | |
| 2016 | Debris and open burning | 10 | 45.5 mi | |
| 2018 | Equipment and vehicle use | 10 | 41.6 mi | |
| 2019 | Equipment and vehicle use | 10 | 38.8 mi |
Top 1 ZIP codes by NFIRS incident count across 2021–2025. Each ZIP has its own fire profile — dive in for neighborhood-level context.
| # | ZIP | 5-yr incidents | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 43452 | 380 |
Six Ohio cities with population within ±25% of Port Clinton. 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.