In 2025, fire departments serving Winchester responded to 64 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $150K 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 80% of all calls.
May peaks. Jun dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
288 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2022. $1.4M cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 35 | — | |
| 2022 | 73 | +108.6% | |
| 2023 | 43 | -41.1% | |
| 2024 | 73 | +69.8% | |
| 2025 | 64 | -12.3% |
For the 28 building fires Winchester departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 108 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 | 35.2% | |
| 2 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 14 | 13.0% | |
| 3 | Cooking area, kitchen | 6 | 5.6% | |
| 4 | Outside area, other | 6 | 5.6% | |
| 5 | Wall surface: exterior | 5 | 4.6% | |
| 6 | Other | 4 | 3.7% | |
| 7 | Laundry area, wash house (laundry) | 3 | 2.8% | |
| 8 | Storage area, other | 3 | 2.8% | |
| 9 | Exterior, exposed surface | 3 | 2.8% | |
| 10 | Vehicle storage area; garage, carport | 2 | 1.9% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 24 | 22.2% |
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 Winchester mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 57 | 52.8% | |
| 2 | Arcing | 11 | 10.2% | |
| 3 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 8 | 7.4% | |
| 4 | Heat source: other | 6 | 5.6% | |
| 5 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 5 | 4.6% | |
| 6 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 4 | 3.7% | |
| 7 | Hot ember or ash | 3 | 2.8% | |
| 8 | Cigarette lighter | 3 | 2.8% | |
| 9 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 2 | 1.9% | |
| 10 | Candle | 2 | 1.9% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 7 | 6.5% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Winchester departments in 2025. These 8 fires alone account for 92% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $150,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 2 | $50,000 | Off-road vehicle or heavy equipment fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $40,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 4 | $40,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 5 | $30,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 6 | $30,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 7 | $20,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 8 | $20,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Winchester sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 11,218 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 | 30.4 mi | |
| 2003 | Debris and open burning | 1,016 | 26.3 mi | |
| 1999 | Debris and open burning | 1,000 | 30.8 mi | |
| 2010 | Debris and open burning | 591 | 27.0 mi | |
| 2016 | Debris and open burning | 476 | 39.8 mi | |
| 2002 | Debris and open burning | 450 | 38.5 mi | |
| 2000 | Recreation and ceremony | 400 | 38.6 mi | |
| 2017 | Arson/incendiarism | 390 | 29.3 mi | |
| 2005 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 366 | 31.9 mi | |
| 2015 | Recreation and ceremony | 332 | 32.1 mi | |
| 2013 | Debris and open burning | 308 | 40.7 mi | |
| 2010 | Debris and open burning | 300 | 31.7 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 Winchester. 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.