In 2025, fire departments serving Van Wert responded to 91 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $144K building blaze. Here's the full picture.
Gas leak (natural gas or LPG) lead by count. Building fires lead by dollars. Together the top five categories make up about 57% of all calls.
Nov peaks. Jul dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
547 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2022. $1.5M cumulative property loss. 1 civilian deaths.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 108 | — | |
| 2022 | 123 | +13.9% | |
| 2023 | 109 | -11.4% | |
| 2024 | 116 | +6.4% | |
| 2025 | 91 | -21.6% |
For the 10 building fires Van Wert departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 215 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 | Outside area, other | 33 | 15.3% | |
| 2 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 26 | 12.1% | |
| 3 | Cooking area, kitchen | 21 | 9.8% | |
| 4 | Other | 18 | 8.4% | |
| 5 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 17 | 7.9% | |
| 6 | Undetermined | 14 | 6.5% | |
| 7 | Bedroom - < 5 persons; included are jail or prison | 7 | 3.3% | |
| 8 | Vehicle storage area; garage, carport | 6 | 2.8% | |
| 9 | Exterior balcony, unenclosed porch | 6 | 2.8% | |
| 10 | Wall surface: exterior | 6 | 2.8% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 61 | 28.4% |
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 Van Wert mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 73 | 34.0% | |
| 2 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 18 | 8.4% | |
| 3 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 15 | 7.0% | |
| 4 | Heat source: other | 12 | 5.6% | |
| 5 | Arcing | 11 | 5.1% | |
| 6 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 11 | 5.1% | |
| 7 | Hot ember or ash | 10 | 4.7% | |
| 8 | Cigarette lighter | 10 | 4.7% | |
| 9 | Chemical, natural heat source, other | 9 | 4.2% | |
| 10 | Chemical reaction | 9 | 4.2% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 37 | 17.2% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Van Wert departments in 2025. These 8 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $143,840 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 2 | $113,100 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $30,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 4 | $6,500 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 5 | $4,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 6 | $3,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 7 | $2,500 | Fire, other | Significant | Investigated |
| 8 | $1,500 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Van Wert sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 6 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 183 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 | 58 | 34.4 mi | |
| 2006 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 50 | 24.0 mi | |
| 2002 | Recreation and ceremony | 35 | 41.2 mi | |
| 2004 | Debris and open burning | 20 | 42.4 mi | |
| 2003 | Debris and open burning | 10 | 29.4 mi | |
| 2019 | Debris and open burning | 10 | 32.0 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 Van Wert. 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.