In 2025, fire departments serving Walbridge responded to 33 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $30K 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. Jul dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
183 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2024. $425K cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 39 | — | |
| 2022 | 32 | -17.9% | |
| 2023 | 37 | +15.6% | |
| 2024 | 42 | +13.5% | |
| 2025 | 33 | -21.4% |
For the 5 building fires Walbridge departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 52 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 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 8 | 15.4% | |
| 2 | Outside area, other | 6 | 11.5% | |
| 3 | Cooking area, kitchen | 5 | 9.6% | |
| 4 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 5 | 9.6% | |
| 5 | Vehicle storage area; garage, carport | 4 | 7.7% | |
| 6 | Railroad right of way: on or near | 3 | 5.8% | |
| 7 | Bedroom - < 5 persons; included are jail or prison | 2 | 3.8% | |
| 8 | Laundry area, wash house (laundry) | 2 | 3.8% | |
| 9 | Switchgear area, transformer vault | 2 | 3.8% | |
| 10 | Attic: vacant, crawl space above top story, cupola | 2 | 3.8% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 13 | 25.0% |
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 Walbridge mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 15 | 28.8% | |
| 2 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 5 | 9.6% | |
| 3 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 5 | 9.6% | |
| 4 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 4 | 7.7% | |
| 5 | Arcing | 4 | 7.7% | |
| 6 | Heat source: other | 2 | 3.8% | |
| 7 | Heat, spark from friction | 2 | 3.8% | |
| 8 | Hot ember or ash | 2 | 3.8% | |
| 9 | Cigarette | 2 | 3.8% | |
| 10 | Cigarette lighter | 2 | 3.8% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 9 | 17.3% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Walbridge departments in 2025. These 6 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $30,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 2 | $10,000 | Outside equipment fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $5,000 | Dumpster or other outside trash receptacle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 4 | $5,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 5 | $5,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 6 | $1,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Walbridge sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 20 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 827 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 | 32.3 mi | |
| 2019 | Equipment and vehicle use | 80 | 25.8 mi | |
| 2005 | Debris and open burning | 77 | 32.3 mi | |
| 2010 | Arson/incendiarism | 69 | 10.9 mi | |
| 2019 | Debris and open burning | 58 | 41.4 mi | |
| 2010 | Arson/incendiarism | 42 | 35.0 mi | |
| 2019 | Debris and open burning | 40 | 41.3 mi | |
| 2017 | Debris and open burning | 22 | 15.4 mi | |
| 2005 | Debris and open burning | 20 | 37.5 mi | |
| 2011 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 16 | 34.3 mi | |
| 2019 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 12 | 40.4 mi | |
| 2015 | Debris and open burning | 11 | 23.6 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 Walbridge. 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.