In 2025, fire departments serving Wooster responded to 180 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $400K 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 54% of all calls.
Mar peaks. Dec dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
1,297 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2023. $4.4M cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 269 | — | |
| 2022 | 287 | +6.7% | |
| 2023 | 317 | +10.5% | |
| 2024 | 244 | -23.0% | |
| 2025 | 180 | -26.2% |
For the 25 building fires Wooster departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 411 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 | 153 | 37.2% | |
| 2 | Outside area, other | 39 | 9.5% | |
| 3 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 35 | 8.5% | |
| 4 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 31 | 7.5% | |
| 5 | Cooking area, kitchen | 30 | 7.3% | |
| 6 | Wildland, woods | 12 | 2.9% | |
| 7 | Other | 9 | 2.2% | |
| 8 | Vehicle area, other | 9 | 2.2% | |
| 9 | Highway, parking lot, street: on or near | 9 | 2.2% | |
| 10 | Vehicle storage area; garage, carport | 7 | 1.7% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 77 | 18.7% |
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 Wooster mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 236 | 57.4% | |
| 2 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 28 | 6.8% | |
| 3 | Hot ember or ash | 25 | 6.1% | |
| 4 | Heat source: other | 17 | 4.1% | |
| 5 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 12 | 2.9% | |
| 6 | Arcing | 11 | 2.7% | |
| 7 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 10 | 2.4% | |
| 8 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 9 | 2.2% | |
| 9 | Match | 9 | 2.2% | |
| 10 | Flame/torch used for lighting | 9 | 2.2% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 45 | 10.9% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Wooster departments in 2025. These 8 fires alone account for 95% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $400,000 | Building fires | Major | Investigated |
| 2 | $50,000 | Road freight or transport vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $50,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 4 | $25,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 5 | $20,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 6 | $15,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 7 | $15,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 8 | $15,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Wooster sits below the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 1,171 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2014 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 175 | 41.8 mi | |
| 2015 | Debris and open burning | 171 | 21.7 mi | |
| 2013 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 150 | 38.5 mi | |
| 2014 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 100 | 43.3 mi | |
| 2014 | Debris and open burning | 60 | 40.2 mi | |
| 2014 | Debris and open burning | 50 | 48.9 mi | |
| 2014 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 50 | 41.8 mi | |
| 2014 | Debris and open burning | 35 | 39.4 mi | |
| 2005 | Debris and open burning | 30 | 26.7 mi | |
| 2014 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 30 | 36.8 mi | |
| 2005 | Debris and open burning | 30 | 32.1 mi | |
| 2014 | Debris and open burning | 25 | 39.0 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 Wooster. 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.