In 2025, fire departments serving Scio responded to 29 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $1K building blaze. Here's the full picture.
Grass fire lead by count. Building fires lead by dollars. Together the top five categories make up about 83% of all calls.
Mar peaks. Feb dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
168 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2023. $83K cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 36 | — | |
| 2022 | 28 | -22.2% | |
| 2023 | 39 | +39.3% | |
| 2024 | 36 | -7.7% | |
| 2025 | 29 | -19.4% |
For the 6 building fires Scio departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 36 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 | 12 | 33.3% | |
| 2 | Outside area, other | 5 | 13.9% | |
| 3 | Wildland, woods | 5 | 13.9% | |
| 4 | Storage room, area, tank, or bin | 2 | 5.6% | |
| 5 | Duct: hvac, cable, exhaust, heating, or AC | 2 | 5.6% | |
| 6 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 2 | 5.6% | |
| 7 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 2 | 5.6% | |
| 8 | Storage area, other | 1 | 2.8% | |
| 9 | Vehicle storage area; garage, carport | 1 | 2.8% | |
| 10 | Heating room or area, water heater area | 1 | 2.8% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 3 | 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 Scio mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 19 | 52.8% | |
| 2 | Hot ember or ash | 5 | 13.9% | |
| 3 | Heat source: other | 3 | 8.3% | |
| 4 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 2 | 5.6% | |
| 5 | Match | 2 | 5.6% | |
| 6 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 1 | 2.8% | |
| 7 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 1 | 2.8% | |
| 8 | Flame/torch used for lighting | 1 | 2.8% | |
| 9 | Lightning | 1 | 2.8% | |
| 10 | Heat spread from another fire, other | 1 | 2.8% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Scio departments in 2025. These 2 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $1,000 | Brush, or brush and grass mixture fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 2 | $1,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Scio sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 1,302 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2014 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 175 | 14.1 mi | |
| 2013 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 150 | 48.7 mi | |
| 2019 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 100 | 35.3 mi | |
| 2014 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 100 | 32.0 mi | |
| 2003 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 78 | 28.1 mi | |
| 2013 | Recreation and ceremony | 75 | 38.7 mi | |
| 2014 | Debris and open burning | 60 | 15.6 mi | |
| 2014 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 50 | 34.2 mi | |
| 2014 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 49 | 37.3 mi | |
| 1992 | Arson/incendiarism | 48 | 29.3 mi | |
| 2014 | Debris and open burning | 40 | 35.3 mi | |
| 2014 | Debris and open burning | 35 | 50.0 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 | 43988 | 168 |
Six Ohio cities with population within ±25% of Scio. 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.