In 2025, fire departments serving Walton Hills responded to 15 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $90K 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 80% of all calls.
Jul peaks. Feb dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
79 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2024. $228K cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 11 | — | |
| 2022 | 13 | +18.2% | |
| 2023 | 19 | +46.2% | |
| 2024 | 21 | +10.5% | |
| 2025 | 15 | -28.6% |
For the 0 building fires Walton Hills departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 16 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 | 3 | 18.8% | |
| 2 | Vehicle storage area; garage, carport | 2 | 12.5% | |
| 3 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 2 | 12.5% | |
| 4 | Other | 1 | 6.2% | |
| 5 | Cooking area, kitchen | 1 | 6.2% | |
| 6 | Storage area, other | 1 | 6.2% | |
| 7 | Storage: supplies or tools; dead storage | 1 | 6.2% | |
| 8 | Attic: vacant, crawl space above top story, cupola | 1 | 6.2% | |
| 9 | Operator/passenger area of transportation equip. | 1 | 6.2% | |
| 10 | Highway, parking lot, street: on or near | 1 | 6.2% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 2 | 12.5% |
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 Walton Hills mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 9 | 56.2% | |
| 2 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 2 | 12.5% | |
| 3 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 1 | 6.2% | |
| 4 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 1 | 6.2% | |
| 5 | Arcing | 1 | 6.2% | |
| 6 | Cigarette | 1 | 6.2% | |
| 7 | Cigarette lighter | 1 | 6.2% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Walton Hills departments in 2025. These 1 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $90,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Walton Hills sits below the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 6 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 505 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2003 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 400 | 24.1 mi | |
| 2005 | Debris and open burning | 30 | 37.7 mi | |
| 2002 | Recreation and ceremony | 25 | 39.3 mi | |
| 2020 | Debris and open burning | 20 | 45.8 mi | |
| 2002 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 20 | 33.2 mi | |
| 2020 | Debris and open burning | 10 | 45.3 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 | 44146 | 79 |
Six Ohio cities with population within ±25% of Walton Hills. 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.