In 2025, fire departments serving Russellville responded to 17 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $14K 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 82% of all calls.
Oct peaks. Feb dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
86 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2021. $545K cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 23 | — | |
| 2022 | 18 | -21.7% | |
| 2023 | 11 | -38.9% | |
| 2024 | 17 | +54.5% | |
| 2025 | 17 | +0.0% |
For the 1 building fires Russellville departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 19 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 | 9 | 47.4% | |
| 2 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 2 | 10.5% | |
| 3 | Outside area, other | 2 | 10.5% | |
| 4 | Other | 1 | 5.3% | |
| 5 | Bedroom - < 5 persons; included are jail or prison | 1 | 5.3% | |
| 6 | Storage room, area, tank, or bin | 1 | 5.3% | |
| 7 | Equipment or service area, other | 1 | 5.3% | |
| 8 | Wall surface: exterior | 1 | 5.3% | |
| 9 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 1 | 5.3% |
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 Russellville mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 11 | 57.9% | |
| 2 | Heat source: other | 2 | 10.5% | |
| 3 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 2 | 10.5% | |
| 4 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 2 | 10.5% | |
| 5 | Heat, spark from friction | 1 | 5.3% | |
| 6 | Heat spread from another fire, other | 1 | 5.3% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Russellville departments in 2025. These 1 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $14,000 | Building or structure weakened or collapsed | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Russellville sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 11,218 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2009 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 2,865 | 34.2 mi | |
| 2003 | Debris and open burning | 1,016 | 32.3 mi | |
| 1999 | Debris and open burning | 1,000 | 31.8 mi | |
| 2010 | Debris and open burning | 591 | 26.5 mi | |
| 2016 | Debris and open burning | 476 | 45.0 mi | |
| 2002 | Debris and open burning | 450 | 43.1 mi | |
| 2000 | Recreation and ceremony | 400 | 43.7 mi | |
| 2017 | Arson/incendiarism | 390 | 32.1 mi | |
| 2005 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 366 | 34.3 mi | |
| 2015 | Recreation and ceremony | 332 | 32.8 mi | |
| 2013 | Debris and open burning | 308 | 40.6 mi | |
| 2010 | Debris and open burning | 300 | 33.3 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 Russellville. 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.