In 2025, fire departments serving Sheffield Lake responded to 75 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $65K 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 72% of all calls.
Oct peaks. Jan dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
482 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2024. $192K cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 94 | — | |
| 2022 | 107 | +13.8% | |
| 2023 | 76 | -29.0% | |
| 2024 | 130 | +71.1% | |
| 2025 | 75 | -42.3% |
For the 11 building fires Sheffield Lake departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 51 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 | Cooking area, kitchen | 8 | 15.7% | |
| 2 | Vehicle storage area; garage, carport | 6 | 11.8% | |
| 3 | Bedroom - < 5 persons; included are jail or prison | 5 | 9.8% | |
| 4 | Outside area, other | 5 | 9.8% | |
| 5 | Undetermined | 5 | 9.8% | |
| 6 | Other | 3 | 5.9% | |
| 7 | Laundry area, wash house (laundry) | 3 | 5.9% | |
| 8 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 3 | 5.9% | |
| 9 | Exterior, exposed surface | 3 | 5.9% | |
| 10 | Bathroom, checkroom, lavatory, locker room | 2 | 3.9% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 8 | 15.7% |
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 Sheffield Lake mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 19 | 37.3% | |
| 2 | Heat source: other | 8 | 15.7% | |
| 3 | Arcing | 6 | 11.8% | |
| 4 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 5 | 9.8% | |
| 5 | Match | 4 | 7.8% | |
| 6 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 2 | 3.9% | |
| 7 | Multiple heat sources including multiple ignitions | 2 | 3.9% | |
| 8 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 1 | 2.0% | |
| 9 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 1 | 2.0% | |
| 10 | Explosive, fireworks, other | 1 | 2.0% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 2 | 3.9% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Sheffield Lake departments in 2025. These 4 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $65,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 2 | $10,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $2,500 | Chimney or flue fire, confined to chimney or flue | Significant | Investigated |
| 4 | $500 | Trash or rubbish fire, contained | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Sheffield Lake sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 6 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 495 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 | 40.9 mi | |
| 2002 | Recreation and ceremony | 25 | 44.6 mi | |
| 2019 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 20 | 40.4 mi | |
| 2020 | Debris and open burning | 20 | 39.2 mi | |
| 2020 | Debris and open burning | 20 | 39.4 mi | |
| 2020 | Debris and open burning | 10 | 38.9 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 Sheffield Lake. 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.