In 2025, fire departments serving Swanton responded to 62 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $75K 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 55% of all calls.
Aug peaks. Mar dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
484 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2022. $1.1M cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 78 | — | |
| 2022 | 154 | +97.4% | |
| 2023 | 83 | -46.1% | |
| 2024 | 107 | +28.9% | |
| 2025 | 62 | -42.1% |
For the 10 building fires Swanton departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 139 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 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 47 | 33.8% | |
| 2 | Undetermined | 16 | 11.5% | |
| 3 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 15 | 10.8% | |
| 4 | Outside area, other | 10 | 7.2% | |
| 5 | Highway, parking lot, street: on or near | 5 | 3.6% | |
| 6 | Wildland, woods | 4 | 2.9% | |
| 7 | Wall surface: exterior | 3 | 2.2% | |
| 8 | Operator/passenger area of transportation equip. | 3 | 2.2% | |
| 9 | Exterior, exposed surface | 3 | 2.2% | |
| 10 | Construction/renovation area | 3 | 2.2% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 30 | 21.6% |
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 Swanton mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 51 | 36.7% | |
| 2 | Hot ember or ash | 13 | 9.4% | |
| 3 | Arcing | 11 | 7.9% | |
| 4 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 9 | 6.5% | |
| 5 | Cigarette lighter | 8 | 5.8% | |
| 6 | Flame/torch used for lighting | 8 | 5.8% | |
| 7 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 7 | 5.0% | |
| 8 | Multiple heat sources including multiple ignitions | 5 | 3.6% | |
| 9 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 3 | 2.2% | |
| 10 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 3 | 2.2% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 21 | 15.1% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Swanton departments in 2025. These 5 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $75,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 2 | $40,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $6,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 4 | $3,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 5 | $1,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Swanton sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 1,021 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 | 300 | 45.0 mi | |
| 1996 | Debris and open burning | 98 | 42.4 mi | |
| 2019 | Equipment and vehicle use | 80 | 32.1 mi | |
| 2005 | Debris and open burning | 77 | 35.5 mi | |
| 2010 | Arson/incendiarism | 69 | 24.0 mi | |
| 2019 | Debris and open burning | 58 | 27.8 mi | |
| 2010 | Arson/incendiarism | 42 | 47.6 mi | |
| 2019 | Debris and open burning | 40 | 24.6 mi | |
| 2019 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 25 | 46.3 mi | |
| 2017 | Debris and open burning | 22 | 5.9 mi | |
| 2014 | Debris and open burning | 21 | 46.7 mi | |
| 2015 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 20 | 49.4 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 Swanton. 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.