In 2025, fire departments serving Sunbury responded to 130 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $125K 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 53% of all calls.
Mar peaks. Jun dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
681 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2024. $3.8M cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 87 | — | |
| 2022 | 134 | +54.0% | |
| 2023 | 153 | +14.2% | |
| 2024 | 177 | +15.7% | |
| 2025 | 130 | -26.6% |
For the 28 building fires Sunbury departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 191 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 | 44 | 23.0% | |
| 2 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 38 | 19.9% | |
| 3 | Outside area, other | 16 | 8.4% | |
| 4 | Cooking area, kitchen | 14 | 7.3% | |
| 5 | Undetermined | 13 | 6.8% | |
| 6 | Vehicle storage area; garage, carport | 7 | 3.7% | |
| 7 | Multiple areas | 7 | 3.7% | |
| 8 | Wildland, woods | 6 | 3.1% | |
| 9 | Ceiling & floor assembly, crawl space b/t stories | 4 | 2.1% | |
| 10 | Operator/passenger area of transportation equip. | 4 | 2.1% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 38 | 19.9% |
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 Sunbury mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 63 | 33.0% | |
| 2 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 17 | 8.9% | |
| 3 | Hot ember or ash | 17 | 8.9% | |
| 4 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 16 | 8.4% | |
| 5 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 9 | 4.7% | |
| 6 | Molten, hot material | 7 | 3.7% | |
| 7 | Cigarette | 7 | 3.7% | |
| 8 | Multiple heat sources including multiple ignitions | 7 | 3.7% | |
| 9 | Arcing | 6 | 3.1% | |
| 10 | Flame/torch used for lighting | 6 | 3.1% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 36 | 18.8% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Sunbury departments in 2025. These 8 fires alone account for 90% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $125,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 2 | $70,000 | Road freight or transport vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $55,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 4 | $50,000 | Outside equipment fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 5 | $22,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 6 | $20,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 7 | $15,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 8 | $10,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Sunbury sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 1,206 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2005 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 332 | 34.4 mi | |
| 2015 | Debris and open burning | 171 | 42.9 mi | |
| 2013 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 150 | 46.6 mi | |
| 2015 | Debris and open burning | 50 | 36.3 mi | |
| 2015 | Debris and open burning | 50 | 49.8 mi | |
| 2014 | Debris and open burning | 50 | 42.6 mi | |
| 2003 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 35 | 46.3 mi | |
| 2014 | Debris and open burning | 35 | 45.6 mi | |
| 2005 | Debris and open burning | 30 | 46.8 mi | |
| 2014 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 30 | 44.9 mi | |
| 2012 | Debris and open burning | 25 | 44.0 mi | |
| 2020 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 25 | 27.0 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 Sunbury. 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.