In 2025, fire departments serving Powell responded to 129 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $10K 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 67% of all calls.
Sep peaks. Mar dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
594 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2023. $747K cumulative property loss. 1 civilian deaths.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 72 | — | |
| 2022 | 99 | +37.5% | |
| 2023 | 163 | +64.6% | |
| 2024 | 131 | -19.6% | |
| 2025 | 129 | -1.5% |
For the 15 building fires Powell departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 99 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 | Outside area, other | 15 | 15.2% | |
| 2 | Cooking area, kitchen | 10 | 10.1% | |
| 3 | Other | 9 | 9.1% | |
| 4 | Undetermined | 9 | 9.1% | |
| 5 | Vehicle storage area; garage, carport | 8 | 8.1% | |
| 6 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 7 | 7.1% | |
| 7 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 5 | 5.1% | |
| 8 | Storage area, other | 3 | 3.0% | |
| 9 | Equipment or service area, other | 3 | 3.0% | |
| 10 | Vehicle area, other | 3 | 3.0% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 27 | 27.3% |
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 Powell mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 32 | 32.3% | |
| 2 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 10 | 10.1% | |
| 3 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 9 | 9.1% | |
| 4 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 6 | 6.1% | |
| 5 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 6 | 6.1% | |
| 6 | Arcing | 6 | 6.1% | |
| 7 | Hot ember or ash | 4 | 4.0% | |
| 8 | Chemical reaction | 4 | 4.0% | |
| 9 | Heat source: other | 3 | 3.0% | |
| 10 | Cigarette lighter | 3 | 3.0% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 16 | 16.2% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Powell departments in 2025. These 8 fires alone account for 99% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $10,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 2 | $6,000 | Brush, or brush and grass mixture fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $2,500 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 4 | $2,500 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 5 | $1,500 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 6 | $1,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 7 | $1,000 | Road freight or transport vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 8 | $150 | Grass fire | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Powell sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 15 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 633 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2005 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 332 | 34.6 mi | |
| 2015 | Debris and open burning | 50 | 41.0 mi | |
| 2003 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 35 | 46.7 mi | |
| 2012 | Debris and open burning | 25 | 45.8 mi | |
| 2020 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 25 | 32.1 mi | |
| 2002 | Debris and open burning | 25 | 45.9 mi | |
| 2012 | Debris and open burning | 24 | 31.0 mi | |
| 2012 | Debris and open burning | 24 | 47.3 mi | |
| 2015 | Debris and open burning | 20 | 48.8 mi | |
| 2012 | Debris and open burning | 18 | 48.2 mi | |
| 2002 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 15 | 37.7 mi | |
| 2006 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 10 | 42.9 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 | 43065 | 594 |
Six Ohio cities with population within ±25% of Powell. 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.