In 2025, fire departments serving Smithville responded to 26 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $100K 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 73% of all calls.
Jan peaks. Feb dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
111 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2021. $161K cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 31 | — | |
| 2022 | 25 | -19.4% | |
| 2023 | 14 | -44.0% | |
| 2024 | 15 | +7.1% | |
| 2025 | 26 | +73.3% |
For the 7 building fires Smithville departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 43 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 | 25 | 58.1% | |
| 2 | Outside area, other | 3 | 7.0% | |
| 3 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 3 | 7.0% | |
| 4 | Cooking area, kitchen | 2 | 4.7% | |
| 5 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 2 | 4.7% | |
| 6 | Courtyard, patio, porch, terrace | 2 | 4.7% | |
| 7 | Other | 1 | 2.3% | |
| 8 | Common room, den, family room, living room, lounge | 1 | 2.3% | |
| 9 | Storage area, other | 1 | 2.3% | |
| 10 | Vehicle area, other | 1 | 2.3% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 2 | 4.7% |
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 Smithville mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 31 | 72.1% | |
| 2 | Heat source: other | 2 | 4.7% | |
| 3 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 2 | 4.7% | |
| 4 | Heat, spark from friction | 2 | 4.7% | |
| 5 | Match | 2 | 4.7% | |
| 6 | Flame/torch used for lighting | 2 | 4.7% | |
| 7 | Hot ember or ash | 1 | 2.3% | |
| 8 | Heat from undetermined smoking material | 1 | 2.3% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Smithville departments in 2025. These 5 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $100,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 2 | $30,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $20,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 4 | $5,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 5 | $5,000 | Cooking fire, confined to container | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Smithville sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 1,146 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 | 39.7 mi | |
| 2015 | Debris and open burning | 171 | 26.4 mi | |
| 2013 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 150 | 42.1 mi | |
| 2014 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 100 | 45.2 mi | |
| 2014 | Debris and open burning | 60 | 38.0 mi | |
| 2014 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 50 | 43.9 mi | |
| 2014 | Debris and open burning | 35 | 43.1 mi | |
| 2015 | Arson/incendiarism | 35 | 48.3 mi | |
| 2005 | Debris and open burning | 30 | 30.7 mi | |
| 2014 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 30 | 40.6 mi | |
| 2005 | Debris and open burning | 30 | 28.2 mi | |
| 2014 | Debris and open burning | 25 | 42.7 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 | 44677 | 111 |
Six Ohio cities with population within ±25% of Smithville. 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.