In 2025, fire departments serving Shadyside responded to 37 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $4K 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 65% of all calls.
May peaks. Feb dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
170 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2023. $240K cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 25 | — | |
| 2022 | 34 | +36.0% | |
| 2023 | 42 | +23.5% | |
| 2024 | 32 | -23.8% | |
| 2025 | 37 | +15.6% |
For the 7 building fires Shadyside departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 40 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 | 26 | 65.0% | |
| 2 | Cooking area, kitchen | 3 | 7.5% | |
| 3 | Other | 2 | 5.0% | |
| 4 | Vehicle area, other | 2 | 5.0% | |
| 5 | Outside area, other | 2 | 5.0% | |
| 6 | Wildland, woods | 2 | 5.0% | |
| 7 | Chute/container - trash, rubbish, waste | 1 | 2.5% | |
| 8 | Vehicle storage area; garage, carport | 1 | 2.5% | |
| 9 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 1 | 2.5% |
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 Shadyside mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 32 | 80.0% | |
| 2 | Arcing | 3 | 7.5% | |
| 3 | Heat source: other | 2 | 5.0% | |
| 4 | Match | 2 | 5.0% | |
| 5 | Heat from direct flame, convection currents | 1 | 2.5% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Shadyside departments in 2025. These 3 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $3,500 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 2 | $3,500 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $2,000 | Fires in structures other than in a building | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Shadyside sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 1,460 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 | 48.5 mi | |
| 2012 | Equipment and vehicle use | 147 | 41.4 mi | |
| 2001 | Smoking | 102 | 40.0 mi | |
| 2019 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 100 | 20.7 mi | |
| 2013 | Recreation and ceremony | 75 | 49.1 mi | |
| 1999 | Power generation/transmission/distribution | 71 | 35.2 mi | |
| 1998 | Arson/incendiarism | 62 | 43.2 mi | |
| 2020 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 60 | 41.1 mi | |
| 2001 | Arson/incendiarism | 55 | 39.5 mi | |
| 2020 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 50 | 40.5 mi | |
| 2014 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 49 | 7.2 mi | |
| 1992 | Arson/incendiarism | 48 | 27.8 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 | 43947 | 170 |
Six Ohio cities with population within ±25% of Shadyside. 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.