In 2025, fire departments serving Reynoldsburg responded to 162 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $300K 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 61% of all calls.
Apr peaks. Dec dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
1,120 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2021. $4.3M cumulative property loss. 3 civilian deaths.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 263 | — | |
| 2022 | 236 | -10.3% | |
| 2023 | 215 | -8.9% | |
| 2024 | 244 | +13.5% | |
| 2025 | 162 | -33.6% |
For the 35 building fires Reynoldsburg departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 197 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 | Cooking area, kitchen | 34 | 17.3% | |
| 2 | Outside area, other | 22 | 11.2% | |
| 3 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 20 | 10.2% | |
| 4 | Undetermined | 19 | 9.6% | |
| 5 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 12 | 6.1% | |
| 6 | Vehicle storage area; garage, carport | 11 | 5.6% | |
| 7 | Bathroom, checkroom, lavatory, locker room | 7 | 3.6% | |
| 8 | Courtyard, patio, porch, terrace | 6 | 3.0% | |
| 9 | Common room, den, family room, living room, lounge | 5 | 2.5% | |
| 10 | Laundry area, wash house (laundry) | 5 | 2.5% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 56 | 28.4% |
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 Reynoldsburg mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 73 | 37.1% | |
| 2 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 19 | 9.6% | |
| 3 | Arcing | 13 | 6.6% | |
| 4 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 12 | 6.1% | |
| 5 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 12 | 6.1% | |
| 6 | Heat from undetermined smoking material | 11 | 5.6% | |
| 7 | Heat source: other | 10 | 5.1% | |
| 8 | Heat from other open flame or smoking materials | 9 | 4.6% | |
| 9 | Hot ember or ash | 6 | 3.0% | |
| 10 | Heat from direct flame, convection currents | 6 | 3.0% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 26 | 13.2% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Reynoldsburg departments in 2025. These 8 fires alone account for 95% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $300,000 | Building fires | Major | Investigated |
| 2 | $100,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $35,000 | Outside equipment fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 4 | $27,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 5 | $25,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 6 | $20,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 7 | $15,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 8 | $10,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Reynoldsburg sits below the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 1,570 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 | 39.8 mi | |
| 2013 | Arson/incendiarism | 280 | 43.6 mi | |
| 2013 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 150 | 47.1 mi | |
| 2010 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 90 | 48.8 mi | |
| 2013 | Power generation/transmission/distribution | 53 | 42.8 mi | |
| 2015 | Debris and open burning | 50 | 20.8 mi | |
| 2015 | Debris and open burning | 50 | 36.0 mi | |
| 2015 | Arson/incendiarism | 50 | 40.6 mi | |
| 2014 | Debris and open burning | 50 | 38.8 mi | |
| 2010 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 46 | 47.9 mi | |
| 2003 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 35 | 26.2 mi | |
| 2014 | Debris and open burning | 35 | 45.8 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 Reynoldsburg. 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.