In 2025, fire departments serving Toledo responded to 45 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 60% of all calls.
Jul peaks. Feb dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
324 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2021. $56K cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 89 | — | |
| 2022 | 67 | -24.7% | |
| 2023 | 74 | +10.4% | |
| 2024 | 49 | -33.8% | |
| 2025 | 45 | -8.2% |
For the 12 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 148 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 | 30 | 20.3% | |
| 2 | Outside area, other | 25 | 16.9% | |
| 3 | Other | 21 | 14.2% | |
| 4 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 19 | 12.8% | |
| 5 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 11 | 7.4% | |
| 6 | Cooking area, kitchen | 6 | 4.1% | |
| 7 | Vehicle area, other | 5 | 3.4% | |
| 8 | Storage area, other | 4 | 2.7% | |
| 9 | Bedroom - < 5 persons; included are jail or prison | 3 | 2.0% | |
| 10 | Attic: vacant, crawl space above top story, cupola | 3 | 2.0% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 21 | 14.2% |
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 | Undetermined | 64 | 43.2% | |
| 2 | Heat source: other | 15 | 10.1% | |
| 3 | Arcing | 12 | 8.1% | |
| 4 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 8 | 5.4% | |
| 5 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 8 | 5.4% | |
| 6 | Hot ember or ash | 7 | 4.7% | |
| 7 | Heat from direct flame, convection currents | 7 | 4.7% | |
| 8 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 6 | 4.1% | |
| 9 | Heat, spark from friction | 4 | 2.7% | |
| 10 | Heat from other open flame or smoking materials | 4 | 2.7% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 13 | 8.8% |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Toledo sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 3,023 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2017 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 384 | 27.9 mi | |
| 2015 | Natural | 359 | 34.9 mi | |
| 2020 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 268 | 32.1 mi | |
| 2015 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 175 | 11.6 mi | |
| 1998 | Recreation and ceremony | 140 | 31.6 mi | |
| 2014 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 127 | 26.3 mi | |
| 2015 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 110 | 35.6 mi | |
| 2010 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 108 | 34.1 mi | |
| 2006 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 106 | 30.4 mi | |
| 2015 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 103 | 9.0 mi | |
| 2019 | Debris and open burning | 103 | 20.9 mi | |
| 1992 | Equipment and vehicle use | 98 | 29.2 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 Washington 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.