In 2025, fire departments serving Somerset responded to 33 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $5K building blaze. Here's the full picture.
Passenger vehicle fire lead by count. Building fires lead by dollars. Together the top five categories make up about 73% of all calls.
Sep peaks. Jun dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
184 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2023. $494K cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 28 | — | |
| 2022 | 43 | +53.6% | |
| 2023 | 52 | +20.9% | |
| 2024 | 28 | -46.2% | |
| 2025 | 33 | +17.9% |
For the 4 building fires Somerset departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 46 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 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 10 | 21.7% | |
| 2 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 8 | 17.4% | |
| 3 | Outside area, other | 7 | 15.2% | |
| 4 | Storage area, other | 3 | 6.5% | |
| 5 | Vehicle area, other | 3 | 6.5% | |
| 6 | Undetermined | 3 | 6.5% | |
| 7 | Other | 2 | 4.3% | |
| 8 | Cooking area, kitchen | 2 | 4.3% | |
| 9 | Wildland, woods | 2 | 4.3% | |
| 10 | Bedroom - < 5 persons; included are jail or prison | 1 | 2.2% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 5 | 10.9% |
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 Somerset mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 29 | 63.0% | |
| 2 | Hot ember or ash | 8 | 17.4% | |
| 3 | Heat source: other | 3 | 6.5% | |
| 4 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 2 | 4.3% | |
| 5 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 1 | 2.2% | |
| 6 | Arcing | 1 | 2.2% | |
| 7 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 1 | 2.2% | |
| 8 | Cigarette lighter | 1 | 2.2% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Somerset departments in 2025. These 2 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $4,500 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 2 | $1 | Forest, woods or wildland fire | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Somerset sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 1,990 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 355 | 38.0 mi | |
| 2013 | Arson/incendiarism | 280 | 37.5 mi | |
| 2013 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 150 | 35.4 mi | |
| 2015 | Power generation/transmission/distribution | 131 | 34.5 mi | |
| 2012 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 100 | 48.4 mi | |
| 2014 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 100 | 44.9 mi | |
| 2010 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 90 | 44.0 mi | |
| 2013 | Recreation and ceremony | 75 | 37.6 mi | |
| 2020 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 60 | 46.2 mi | |
| 2013 | Power generation/transmission/distribution | 53 | 19.8 mi | |
| 2015 | Debris and open burning | 50 | 7.5 mi | |
| 2015 | Debris and open burning | 50 | 7.9 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 | 43783 | 184 |
Six Ohio cities with population within ±25% of Somerset. 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.