In 2025, fire departments serving Sebring responded to 33 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $18K 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 73% of all calls.
Nov peaks. Feb dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
208 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2022. $255K cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 30 | — | |
| 2022 | 57 | +90.0% | |
| 2023 | 52 | -8.8% | |
| 2024 | 36 | -30.8% | |
| 2025 | 33 | -8.3% |
For the 3 building fires Sebring departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 35 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 | 14 | 40.0% | |
| 2 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 3 | 8.6% | |
| 3 | Bathroom, checkroom, lavatory, locker room | 2 | 5.7% | |
| 4 | Vehicle storage area; garage, carport | 2 | 5.7% | |
| 5 | Structural area, other | 2 | 5.7% | |
| 6 | Common room, den, family room, living room, lounge | 1 | 2.9% | |
| 7 | Bedroom - < 5 persons; included are jail or prison | 1 | 2.9% | |
| 8 | Cooking area, kitchen | 1 | 2.9% | |
| 9 | Laundry area, wash house (laundry) | 1 | 2.9% | |
| 10 | Storage: supplies or tools; dead storage | 1 | 2.9% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 7 | 20.0% |
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 Sebring mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 16 | 45.7% | |
| 2 | Arcing | 6 | 17.1% | |
| 3 | Cigarette | 3 | 8.6% | |
| 4 | Lightning | 2 | 5.7% | |
| 5 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 1 | 2.9% | |
| 6 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 1 | 2.9% | |
| 7 | Hot ember or ash | 1 | 2.9% | |
| 8 | Heat from undetermined smoking material | 1 | 2.9% | |
| 9 | Match | 1 | 2.9% | |
| 10 | Backfire from internal combustion engine | 1 | 2.9% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 2 | 5.7% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Sebring departments in 2025. These 6 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $18,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 2 | $5,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $1,000 | Electrical wiring/equipment problem, other | Significant | Investigated |
| 4 | $1,000 | Gas leak (natural gas or LPG) | Significant | Investigated |
| 5 | $1,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 6 | $300 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Sebring sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 916 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 | 24.8 mi | |
| 2013 | Debris and open burning | 106 | 37.0 mi | |
| 2003 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 78 | 13.7 mi | |
| 2014 | Debris and open burning | 60 | 24.4 mi | |
| 1992 | Arson/incendiarism | 48 | 47.6 mi | |
| 2015 | Arson/incendiarism | 35 | 15.6 mi | |
| 2005 | Debris and open burning | 31 | 41.7 mi | |
| 2005 | Debris and open burning | 30 | 16.3 mi | |
| 2014 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 30 | 31.4 mi | |
| 2016 | Debris and open burning | 30 | 28.6 mi | |
| 2002 | Recreation and ceremony | 25 | 46.0 mi | |
| 2013 | Debris and open burning | 25 | 14.2 mi |
Top 2 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 Sebring. 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.