In 2025, fire departments serving Toledo responded to 14 fire and hazmat incidents . Here's the full picture.
Building fires lead by count. Building fires lead by dollars. Together the top five categories make up about 71% of all calls.
Mar peaks. Jan dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
47 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2024. $120K cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021* | 2 | — | |
| 2022* | 2 | — | |
| 2023 | 6 | — | |
| 2024 | 23 | +283.3% | |
| 2025 | 14 | -39.1% |
* Well below Toledo's usual volume. That almost always means one or more departments didn't submit a full year to NFIRS, not that fires dropped, so no year-over-year change is shown for it.
For the 3 building fires Toledo departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 21 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 | Vehicle area, other | 3 | 14.3% | |
| 2 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 3 | 14.3% | |
| 3 | Undetermined | 3 | 14.3% | |
| 4 | Structural area, other | 2 | 9.5% | |
| 5 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 2 | 9.5% | |
| 6 | Exterior, exposed surface | 2 | 9.5% | |
| 7 | Wildland, woods | 2 | 9.5% | |
| 8 | Other | 1 | 4.8% | |
| 9 | Vehicle storage area; garage, carport | 1 | 4.8% | |
| 10 | Wall surface: exterior | 1 | 4.8% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 1 | 4.8% |
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 Toledo mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 5 | 23.8% | |
| 2 | Undetermined | 4 | 19.0% | |
| 3 | Match | 3 | 14.3% | |
| 4 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 1 | 4.8% | |
| 5 | Arcing | 1 | 4.8% | |
| 6 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 1 | 4.8% | |
| 7 | Hot ember or ash | 1 | 4.8% | |
| 8 | Cigarette | 1 | 4.8% | |
| 9 | Cigarette lighter | 1 | 4.8% | |
| 10 | Flame/torch used for lighting | 1 | 4.8% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 2 | 9.5% |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Toledo sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 17 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 796 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2009 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 160 | 46.3 mi | |
| 2003 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 150 | 44.7 mi | |
| 2013 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 100 | 30.9 mi | |
| 2003 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 100 | 45.3 mi | |
| 2014 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 60 | 17.5 mi | |
| 2005 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 40 | 38.9 mi | |
| 2009 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 30 | 47.1 mi | |
| 2013 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 30 | 32.3 mi | |
| 2013 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 25 | 39.3 mi | |
| 2013 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 20 | 33.5 mi | |
| 2009 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 15 | 33.2 mi | |
| 2020 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 14 | 24.1 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 | 62468 | 47 |
Six Illinois cities with population within ±25% of Toledo. 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.