In 2025, fire departments serving West Portsmouth responded to 40 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $20K 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 60% of all calls.
Apr peaks. Jul dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
249 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2021. $154K cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 61 | — | |
| 2022 | 55 | -9.8% | |
| 2023 | 47 | -14.5% | |
| 2024 | 46 | -2.1% | |
| 2025 | 40 | -13.0% |
For the 9 building fires West Portsmouth departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 148 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 | 32 | 21.6% | |
| 2 | Outside area, other | 17 | 11.5% | |
| 3 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 16 | 10.8% | |
| 4 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 12 | 8.1% | |
| 5 | Operator/passenger area of transportation equip. | 10 | 6.8% | |
| 6 | Wildland, woods | 7 | 4.7% | |
| 7 | Bedroom - < 5 persons; included are jail or prison | 6 | 4.1% | |
| 8 | Cooking area, kitchen | 6 | 4.1% | |
| 9 | Storage area, other | 6 | 4.1% | |
| 10 | Wall surface: exterior | 6 | 4.1% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 30 | 20.3% |
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 Portsmouth mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 72 | 48.6% | |
| 2 | Arcing | 25 | 16.9% | |
| 3 | Hot ember or ash | 16 | 10.8% | |
| 4 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 6 | 4.1% | |
| 5 | Match | 6 | 4.1% | |
| 6 | Heat spread from another fire, other | 5 | 3.4% | |
| 7 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 4 | 2.7% | |
| 8 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 3 | 2.0% | |
| 9 | Radiated heat from another fire | 3 | 2.0% | |
| 10 | Cigarette lighter | 2 | 1.4% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 6 | 4.1% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by West Portsmouth departments in 2025. These 1 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $20,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. West Portsmouth sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 13,459 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 | 10.0 mi | |
| 2003 | Debris and open burning | 1,016 | 9.0 mi | |
| 1999 | Debris and open burning | 1,000 | 20.3 mi | |
| 2000 | Arson/incendiarism | 870 | 44.9 mi | |
| 2005 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 650 | 27.9 mi | |
| 2010 | Debris and open burning | 591 | 25.3 mi | |
| 1999 | Arson/incendiarism | 500 | 41.4 mi | |
| 2016 | Debris and open burning | 476 | 4.8 mi | |
| 2002 | Debris and open burning | 450 | 6.1 mi | |
| 2000 | Recreation and ceremony | 400 | 4.3 mi | |
| 2017 | Arson/incendiarism | 390 | 14.4 mi | |
| 2005 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 366 | 15.2 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 Portsmouth. 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.