In 2025, fire departments serving Rock Creek responded to 27 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $50K 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 63% of all calls.
Oct peaks. Jan dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
79 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2025. $115K cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 13 | — | |
| 2022 | 14 | +7.7% | |
| 2023 | 11 | -21.4% | |
| 2024 | 14 | +27.3% | |
| 2025 | 27 | +92.9% |
For the 5 building fires Rock Creek departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 12 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 | 4 | 33.3% | |
| 2 | Other | 2 | 16.7% | |
| 3 | Common room, den, family room, living room, lounge | 1 | 8.3% | |
| 4 | Cooking area, kitchen | 1 | 8.3% | |
| 5 | Duct: hvac, cable, exhaust, heating, or AC | 1 | 8.3% | |
| 6 | Substructure area or space, crawl space | 1 | 8.3% | |
| 7 | Operator/passenger area of transportation equip. | 1 | 8.3% | |
| 8 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 1 | 8.3% |
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 Rock Creek mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Arcing | 2 | 16.7% | |
| 2 | Chemical reaction | 2 | 16.7% | |
| 3 | Undetermined | 2 | 16.7% | |
| 4 | Heat source: other | 1 | 8.3% | |
| 5 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 1 | 8.3% | |
| 6 | Heat, spark from friction | 1 | 8.3% | |
| 7 | Hot ember or ash | 1 | 8.3% | |
| 8 | Heat from other open flame or smoking materials | 1 | 8.3% | |
| 9 | Flame/torch used for lighting | 1 | 8.3% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Rock Creek departments in 2025. These 3 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $50,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 2 | $25,000 | Mobile property (vehicle) fire, other | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $10,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Rock Creek sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 6 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 502 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2003 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 400 | 25.6 mi | |
| 1995 | Equipment and vehicle use | 29 | 48.4 mi | |
| 2018 | Debris and open burning | 25 | 48.1 mi | |
| 2002 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 20 | 14.3 mi | |
| 2018 | Debris and open burning | 16 | 47.0 mi | |
| 2016 | Debris and open burning | 12 | 39.9 mi |
Top 3 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 Rock Creek. 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.