In 2025, fire departments serving West Liberty responded to 28 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $43K building blaze. Here's the full picture.
Power line down lead by count. Building fires lead by dollars. Together the top five categories make up about 57% of all calls.
Jul peaks. Mar dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
178 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2022. $541K cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 34 | — | |
| 2022 | 50 | +47.1% | |
| 2023 | 33 | -34.0% | |
| 2024 | 33 | +0.0% | |
| 2025 | 28 | -15.2% |
For the 1 building fires West Liberty departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 88 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 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 32 | 36.4% | |
| 2 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 15 | 17.0% | |
| 3 | Courtyard, patio, porch, terrace | 5 | 5.7% | |
| 4 | Highway, parking lot, street: on or near | 4 | 4.5% | |
| 5 | Cooking area, kitchen | 3 | 3.4% | |
| 6 | Duct: hvac, cable, exhaust, heating, or AC | 3 | 3.4% | |
| 7 | Roof surface: exterior | 3 | 3.4% | |
| 8 | Undetermined | 3 | 3.4% | |
| 9 | Storage: supplies or tools; dead storage | 2 | 2.3% | |
| 10 | Equipment or service area, other | 2 | 2.3% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 16 | 18.2% |
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 Liberty mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 23 | 26.1% | |
| 2 | Cigarette lighter | 17 | 19.3% | |
| 3 | Arcing | 10 | 11.4% | |
| 4 | Flame/torch used for lighting | 10 | 11.4% | |
| 5 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 5 | 5.7% | |
| 6 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 4 | 4.5% | |
| 7 | Hot ember or ash | 4 | 4.5% | |
| 8 | Flying brand, ember, spark | 3 | 3.4% | |
| 9 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 2 | 2.3% | |
| 10 | Heat, spark from friction | 2 | 2.3% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 8 | 9.1% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by West Liberty departments in 2025. These 8 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $43,000 | Off-road vehicle or heavy equipment fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 2 | $10,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $8,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 4 | $2,500 | Outside equipment fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 5 | $1,500 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 6 | $500 | Off-road vehicle or heavy equipment fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 7 | $300 | Fuel burner/boiler malfunction, fire confined | Significant | Investigated |
| 8 | $200 | Chimney or flue fire, confined to chimney or flue | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. West Liberty sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 3 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 372 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 | 37.5 mi | |
| 2002 | Debris and open burning | 25 | 16.6 mi | |
| 2002 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 15 | 21.9 mi |
Top 4 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 Liberty. 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.