In 2025, fire departments serving Spencerville responded to 43 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $150K 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.
Oct peaks. Dec dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
183 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2022. $477K cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 24 | — | |
| 2022 | 47 | +95.8% | |
| 2023 | 45 | -4.3% | |
| 2024 | 24 | -46.7% | |
| 2025 | 43 | +79.2% |
For the 10 building fires Spencerville departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 74 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 | 29 | 39.2% | |
| 2 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 11 | 14.9% | |
| 3 | Other | 6 | 8.1% | |
| 4 | Cooking area, kitchen | 5 | 6.8% | |
| 5 | Outside area, other | 5 | 6.8% | |
| 6 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 4 | 5.4% | |
| 7 | Structural area, other | 2 | 2.7% | |
| 8 | Wildland, woods | 2 | 2.7% | |
| 9 | Common room, den, family room, living room, lounge | 1 | 1.4% | |
| 10 | Storage area, other | 1 | 1.4% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 8 | 10.8% |
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 Spencerville mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 46 | 62.2% | |
| 2 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 5 | 6.8% | |
| 3 | Heat source: other | 4 | 5.4% | |
| 4 | Arcing | 4 | 5.4% | |
| 5 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 3 | 4.1% | |
| 6 | Match | 2 | 2.7% | |
| 7 | Cigarette lighter | 2 | 2.7% | |
| 8 | Heat spread from another fire, other | 2 | 2.7% | |
| 9 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 1 | 1.4% | |
| 10 | Hot ember or ash | 1 | 1.4% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 4 | 5.4% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Spencerville departments in 2025. These 8 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $150,000 | Cultivated grain or crop fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 2 | $80,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $80,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 4 | $50,000 | Mobile property (vehicle) fire, other | Significant | Investigated |
| 5 | $50,000 | Cultivated grain or crop fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 6 | $25,000 | Cultivated grain or crop fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 7 | $10,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 8 | $2,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Spencerville sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 5 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 153 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2019 | Debris and open burning | 58 | 37.5 mi | |
| 2006 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 50 | 40.1 mi | |
| 2002 | Debris and open burning | 25 | 49.8 mi | |
| 2003 | Debris and open burning | 10 | 40.8 mi | |
| 2019 | Debris and open burning | 10 | 34.5 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 Spencerville. 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.