In 2025, fire departments serving Upper Sandusky responded to 122 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $30K building blaze. Here's the full picture.
Vehicle accident, general cleanup lead by count. Building fires lead by dollars. Together the top five categories make up about 55% of all calls.
May peaks. Aug dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
769 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2024. $3.0M cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 120 | — | |
| 2022 | 163 | +35.8% | |
| 2023 | 159 | -2.5% | |
| 2024 | 205 | +28.9% | |
| 2025 | 122 | -40.5% |
For the 14 building fires Upper Sandusky departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 171 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 | 36 | 21.1% | |
| 2 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 30 | 17.5% | |
| 3 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 25 | 14.6% | |
| 4 | Outside area, other | 18 | 10.5% | |
| 5 | Cooking area, kitchen | 10 | 5.8% | |
| 6 | Wildland, woods | 6 | 3.5% | |
| 7 | Highway, parking lot, street: on or near | 5 | 2.9% | |
| 8 | Bathroom, checkroom, lavatory, locker room | 3 | 1.8% | |
| 9 | Wall surface: exterior | 3 | 1.8% | |
| 10 | Vehicle area, other | 3 | 1.8% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 32 | 18.7% |
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 Upper Sandusky mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 101 | 59.1% | |
| 2 | Hot ember or ash | 12 | 7.0% | |
| 3 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 10 | 5.8% | |
| 4 | Match | 7 | 4.1% | |
| 5 | Heat spread from another fire, other | 7 | 4.1% | |
| 6 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 5 | 2.9% | |
| 7 | Heat source: other | 4 | 2.3% | |
| 8 | Heat, spark from friction | 3 | 1.8% | |
| 9 | Cigarette lighter | 3 | 1.8% | |
| 10 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 2 | 1.2% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 17 | 9.9% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Upper Sandusky departments in 2025. These 4 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $30,000 | Off-road vehicle or heavy equipment fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 2 | $30,000 | Off-road vehicle or heavy equipment fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $1,000 | Camper or recreational vehicle (RV) fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 4 | $1,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Upper Sandusky sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 4 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 382 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 | 12.4 mi | |
| 2019 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 20 | 48.6 mi | |
| 2020 | Debris and open burning | 20 | 45.4 mi | |
| 2013 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 10 | 46.1 mi |
Top 4 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 Upper Sandusky. 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.