In 2025, fire departments serving Waterville responded to 30 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $45K building blaze. Here's the full picture.
Brush, or brush and grass mixture fire lead by count. Building fires lead by dollars. Together the top five categories make up about 50% of all calls.
Jan peaks. Jul dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
218 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2023. $955K cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 40 | — | |
| 2022 | 49 | +22.5% | |
| 2023 | 62 | +26.5% | |
| 2024 | 37 | -40.3% | |
| 2025 | 30 | -18.9% |
For the 2 building fires Waterville departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 61 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 | 17 | 27.9% | |
| 2 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 9 | 14.8% | |
| 3 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 8 | 13.1% | |
| 4 | Cooking area, kitchen | 7 | 11.5% | |
| 5 | Other | 3 | 4.9% | |
| 6 | Cargo/trunk area - all vehicles | 3 | 4.9% | |
| 7 | Vehicle storage area; garage, carport | 2 | 3.3% | |
| 8 | Highway, parking lot, street: on or near | 2 | 3.3% | |
| 9 | Undetermined | 2 | 3.3% | |
| 10 | Interior stairway or ramp | 1 | 1.6% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 7 | 11.5% |
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 Waterville mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 13 | 21.3% | |
| 2 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 8 | 13.1% | |
| 3 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 7 | 11.5% | |
| 4 | Cigarette lighter | 5 | 8.2% | |
| 5 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 4 | 6.6% | |
| 6 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 4 | 6.6% | |
| 7 | Hot ember or ash | 4 | 6.6% | |
| 8 | Match | 4 | 6.6% | |
| 9 | Heat source: other | 2 | 3.3% | |
| 10 | Arcing | 2 | 3.3% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 8 | 13.1% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Waterville departments in 2025. These 2 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $45,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 2 | $6,800 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Waterville sits below the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 24 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 882 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 | 43.9 mi | |
| 2019 | Equipment and vehicle use | 80 | 33.6 mi | |
| 2005 | Debris and open burning | 77 | 38.5 mi | |
| 2010 | Arson/incendiarism | 69 | 21.5 mi | |
| 2019 | Debris and open burning | 58 | 28.0 mi | |
| 2010 | Arson/incendiarism | 42 | 46.6 mi | |
| 2019 | Debris and open burning | 40 | 34.2 mi | |
| 2017 | Debris and open burning | 22 | 8.9 mi | |
| 2005 | Debris and open burning | 20 | 43.3 mi | |
| 2011 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 16 | 24.0 mi | |
| 2019 | Equipment and vehicle use | 15 | 48.3 mi | |
| 2019 | Equipment and vehicle use | 15 | 43.9 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 | 43566 | 218 |
Six Ohio cities with population within ±25% of Waterville. 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.