In 2025, fire departments serving West Farmington responded to 34 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $261K 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 79% of all calls.
Mar peaks. Oct dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
259 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2023. $1.0M cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 46 | — | |
| 2022 | 53 | +15.2% | |
| 2023 | 76 | +43.4% | |
| 2024 | 50 | -34.2% | |
| 2025 | 34 | -32.0% |
For the 12 building fires West Farmington departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 34 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 | 16 | 47.1% | |
| 2 | Common room, den, family room, living room, lounge | 3 | 8.8% | |
| 3 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 3 | 8.8% | |
| 4 | Cooking area, kitchen | 1 | 2.9% | |
| 5 | Laundry area, wash house (laundry) | 1 | 2.9% | |
| 6 | Storage room, area, tank, or bin | 1 | 2.9% | |
| 7 | Closet | 1 | 2.9% | |
| 8 | Vehicle storage area; garage, carport | 1 | 2.9% | |
| 9 | Conduit, pipe, utility, or ventilation shaft | 1 | 2.9% | |
| 10 | Duct: hvac, cable, exhaust, heating, or AC | 1 | 2.9% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 5 | 14.7% |
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 West Farmington mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 22 | 64.7% | |
| 2 | Heat source: other | 2 | 5.9% | |
| 3 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 2 | 5.9% | |
| 4 | Arcing | 1 | 2.9% | |
| 5 | Hot ember or ash | 1 | 2.9% | |
| 6 | Heat from other open flame or smoking materials | 1 | 2.9% | |
| 7 | Cigarette | 1 | 2.9% | |
| 8 | Other static discharge | 1 | 2.9% | |
| 9 | Heat spread from another fire, other | 1 | 2.9% | |
| 10 | Heat from direct flame, convection currents | 1 | 2.9% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 1 | 2.9% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by West Farmington departments in 2025. These 4 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $260,960 | Building fires | Major | Investigated |
| 2 | $182,672 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $103,950 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 4 | $4,000 | Chimney or flue fire, confined to chimney or flue | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. West Farmington sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 16 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 865 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 | 27.9 mi | |
| 2013 | Debris and open burning | 106 | 47.4 mi | |
| 2003 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 78 | 43.6 mi | |
| 2015 | Arson/incendiarism | 35 | 47.8 mi | |
| 2005 | Debris and open burning | 30 | 41.5 mi | |
| 2016 | Debris and open burning | 30 | 38.2 mi | |
| 2014 | Debris and open burning | 29 | 48.2 mi | |
| 2013 | Debris and open burning | 25 | 46.6 mi | |
| 2014 | Debris and open burning | 22 | 42.6 mi | |
| 2002 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 20 | 24.0 mi | |
| 2013 | Debris and open burning | 20 | 49.1 mi | |
| 2015 | Debris and open burning | 18 | 44.3 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 West Farmington. 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.