In 2025, fire departments serving Whitehouse responded to 40 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $18K 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.
Feb peaks. Jun dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
206 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2021. $78K cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 47 | — | |
| 2022 | 41 | -12.8% | |
| 2023 | 34 | -17.1% | |
| 2024 | 44 | +29.4% | |
| 2025 | 40 | -9.1% |
For the 6 building fires Whitehouse departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 45 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 | 10 | 22.2% | |
| 2 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 6 | 13.3% | |
| 3 | Outside area, other | 5 | 11.1% | |
| 4 | Other | 3 | 6.7% | |
| 5 | Wall assembly | 3 | 6.7% | |
| 6 | Wildland, woods | 3 | 6.7% | |
| 7 | Egress/exit, other | 2 | 4.4% | |
| 8 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 2 | 4.4% | |
| 9 | Cooking area, kitchen | 1 | 2.2% | |
| 10 | Processing/manufacturing area, workroom | 1 | 2.2% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 9 | 20.0% |
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 Whitehouse mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 21 | 46.7% | |
| 2 | Arcing | 4 | 8.9% | |
| 3 | Hot ember or ash | 3 | 6.7% | |
| 4 | Cigarette lighter | 3 | 6.7% | |
| 5 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 2 | 4.4% | |
| 6 | Heat from direct flame, convection currents | 2 | 4.4% | |
| 7 | Heat source: other | 1 | 2.2% | |
| 8 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 1 | 2.2% | |
| 9 | Molten, hot material | 1 | 2.2% | |
| 10 | Heat from other open flame or smoking materials | 1 | 2.2% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 6 | 13.3% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Whitehouse departments in 2025. These 1 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $18,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Whitehouse sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 980 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2019 | Debris and open burning | 300 | 44.7 mi | |
| 1996 | Debris and open burning | 98 | 47.7 mi | |
| 2019 | Equipment and vehicle use | 80 | 33.4 mi | |
| 2005 | Debris and open burning | 77 | 37.9 mi | |
| 2010 | Arson/incendiarism | 69 | 22.6 mi | |
| 2019 | Debris and open burning | 58 | 26.9 mi | |
| 2010 | Arson/incendiarism | 42 | 47.4 mi | |
| 2019 | Debris and open burning | 40 | 31.0 mi | |
| 2017 | Debris and open burning | 22 | 7.1 mi | |
| 2005 | Debris and open burning | 20 | 42.5 mi | |
| 2011 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 16 | 20.6 mi | |
| 2019 | Equipment and vehicle use | 15 | 45.1 mi |
Top 2 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 Whitehouse. 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.