In 2025, fire departments serving Wapakoneta responded to 106 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $95K 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 59% of all calls.
Sep peaks. Feb dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
701 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2022. $1.9M cumulative property loss. 2 civilian deaths.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 112 | — | |
| 2022 | 171 | +52.7% | |
| 2023 | 166 | -2.9% | |
| 2024 | 146 | -12.0% | |
| 2025 | 106 | -27.4% |
For the 25 building fires Wapakoneta departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 247 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 | 83 | 33.6% | |
| 2 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 30 | 12.1% | |
| 3 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 22 | 8.9% | |
| 4 | Highway, parking lot, street: on or near | 13 | 5.3% | |
| 5 | Cooking area, kitchen | 10 | 4.0% | |
| 6 | Outside area, other | 9 | 3.6% | |
| 7 | Wildland, woods | 8 | 3.2% | |
| 8 | Exterior, exposed surface | 6 | 2.4% | |
| 9 | Common room, den, family room, living room, lounge | 4 | 1.6% | |
| 10 | Bathroom, checkroom, lavatory, locker room | 4 | 1.6% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 58 | 23.5% |
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 Wapakoneta mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 123 | 49.8% | |
| 2 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 33 | 13.4% | |
| 3 | Arcing | 13 | 5.3% | |
| 4 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 11 | 4.5% | |
| 5 | Hot ember or ash | 9 | 3.6% | |
| 6 | Cigarette | 7 | 2.8% | |
| 7 | Heat, spark from friction | 6 | 2.4% | |
| 8 | Flame/torch used for lighting | 6 | 2.4% | |
| 9 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 5 | 2.0% | |
| 10 | Heat from direct flame, convection currents | 5 | 2.0% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 29 | 11.7% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Wapakoneta departments in 2025. These 8 fires alone account for 93% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $95,000 | Cultivated grain or crop fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 2 | $40,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $40,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 4 | $35,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 5 | $20,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 6 | $15,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 7 | $5,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 8 | $5,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Wapakoneta sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 5 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 440 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 | 48.9 mi | |
| 2019 | Debris and open burning | 58 | 45.6 mi | |
| 2002 | Debris and open burning | 25 | 37.4 mi | |
| 2002 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 15 | 49.7 mi | |
| 2019 | Debris and open burning | 10 | 42.5 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 | 45895 | 701 |
Six Ohio cities with population within ±25% of Wapakoneta. 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.