In 2025, fire departments serving Wellston responded to 104 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $100K 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 66% of all calls.
Jan peaks. Oct dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
696 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2023. $2.6M cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 122 | — | |
| 2022 | 142 | +16.4% | |
| 2023 | 171 | +20.4% | |
| 2024 | 157 | -8.2% | |
| 2025 | 104 | -33.8% |
For the 32 building fires Wellston departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 185 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 | 38 | 20.5% | |
| 2 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 20 | 10.8% | |
| 3 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 19 | 10.3% | |
| 4 | Cooking area, kitchen | 18 | 9.7% | |
| 5 | Outside area, other | 9 | 4.9% | |
| 6 | Laundry area, wash house (laundry) | 8 | 4.3% | |
| 7 | Bedroom - < 5 persons; included are jail or prison | 7 | 3.8% | |
| 8 | Wall surface: exterior | 7 | 3.8% | |
| 9 | Function area, other | 6 | 3.2% | |
| 10 | Operator/passenger area of transportation equip. | 6 | 3.2% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 47 | 25.4% |
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 Wellston mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 89 | 48.1% | |
| 2 | Arcing | 18 | 9.7% | |
| 3 | Cigarette lighter | 14 | 7.6% | |
| 4 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 12 | 6.5% | |
| 5 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 10 | 5.4% | |
| 6 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 8 | 4.3% | |
| 7 | Cigarette | 5 | 2.7% | |
| 8 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 4 | 2.2% | |
| 9 | Heat source: other | 3 | 1.6% | |
| 10 | Heat, spark from friction | 3 | 1.6% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 19 | 10.3% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Wellston departments in 2025. These 8 fires alone account for 95% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $100,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 2 | $100,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $75,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 4 | $25,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 5 | $20,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 6 | $8,000 | Mobile property (vehicle) fire, other | Significant | Investigated |
| 7 | $5,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 8 | $5,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Wellston sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 9,950 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2009 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 2,865 | 46.4 mi | |
| 2003 | Debris and open burning | 1,016 | 40.4 mi | |
| 2016 | Debris and open burning | 476 | 36.2 mi | |
| 2002 | Debris and open burning | 450 | 40.3 mi | |
| 2000 | Recreation and ceremony | 400 | 37.8 mi | |
| 2010 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 355 | 21.7 mi | |
| 2009 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 310 | 39.8 mi | |
| 2005 | Equipment and vehicle use | 303 | 29.2 mi | |
| 2001 | Arson/incendiarism | 300 | 22.2 mi | |
| 2016 | Debris and open burning | 290 | 37.4 mi | |
| 2011 | Recreation and ceremony | 290 | 45.9 mi | |
| 2013 | Arson/incendiarism | 280 | 16.4 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 Wellston. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
1 departments report to NFIRS for incidents in Wellston.
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.