In 2025, fire departments serving Waynesburg responded to 51 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $30K building blaze. Here's the full picture.
Vehicle accident, general cleanup lead by count. Building fires lead by dollars. Together the top five categories make up about 61% of all calls.
Sep peaks. Oct dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
390 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2022. $872K cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 81 | — | |
| 2022 | 102 | +25.9% | |
| 2023 | 95 | -6.9% | |
| 2024 | 61 | -35.8% | |
| 2025 | 51 | -16.4% |
For the 1 building fires Waynesburg departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 80 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 | 30 | 37.5% | |
| 2 | Outside area, other | 10 | 12.5% | |
| 3 | Vehicle storage area; garage, carport | 6 | 7.5% | |
| 4 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 6 | 7.5% | |
| 5 | Cooking area, kitchen | 4 | 5.0% | |
| 6 | Other | 3 | 3.8% | |
| 7 | Chute/container - trash, rubbish, waste | 3 | 3.8% | |
| 8 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 3 | 3.8% | |
| 9 | Wildland, woods | 3 | 3.8% | |
| 10 | Function area, other | 2 | 2.5% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 10 | 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 Waynesburg mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 59 | 73.8% | |
| 2 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 5 | 6.2% | |
| 3 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 5 | 6.2% | |
| 4 | Heat from other open flame or smoking materials | 3 | 3.8% | |
| 5 | Hot ember or ash | 2 | 2.5% | |
| 6 | Heat source: other | 1 | 1.2% | |
| 7 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 1 | 1.2% | |
| 8 | Explosive, fireworks, other | 1 | 1.2% | |
| 9 | Incendiary device | 1 | 1.2% | |
| 10 | Match | 1 | 1.2% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 1 | 1.2% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Waynesburg departments in 2025. These 2 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 | $12,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Waynesburg sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 1,195 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2014 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 175 | 6.6 mi | |
| 2013 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 150 | 47.8 mi | |
| 2014 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 100 | 36.8 mi | |
| 2003 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 78 | 22.1 mi | |
| 2013 | Recreation and ceremony | 75 | 47.3 mi | |
| 2014 | Debris and open burning | 60 | 5.1 mi | |
| 2014 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 50 | 37.7 mi | |
| 1992 | Arson/incendiarism | 48 | 44.3 mi | |
| 2014 | Debris and open burning | 35 | 49.2 mi | |
| 2015 | Arson/incendiarism | 35 | 15.7 mi | |
| 2005 | Debris and open burning | 31 | 27.9 mi | |
| 2005 | Debris and open burning | 30 | 43.3 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 Waynesburg. 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.