Geospatial analysis for identifying risk factors of residential fires in Ohio: A census tracts analysis using NFIRS dataset

Residential fires have been a growing source of concern in the United States due to the damage they pose to human life and property. In 2017-18, there were 1.3 million fires in the United States, and one residential fire occurred every 87 seconds. Even though fires were known to be a big problem, the number of deaths and losses from fires rose by 90.6% and 20.5%, respectively, between 2009 and 2018. Residential fires are not completely unexpected; they are also caused by demographic, socioeconomic, and built-environmental factors. The exploratory analysis found that the residential fire rate in the Midwest was significantly higher than in other regions, and Ohio had the most residential fires per square mile among the other states in the Midwest during 2013-2017. This study used the National Fire Incident Reporting System (NFIRS) to analyze the residential fires in Ohio. The addresses of the residential fires were geocoded, and the risk factors were collected using the census data. A 5-year (t) panel dataset was created for predicting the risk factors that consist of 2952 census tracts (N). To comprehend residential fires in two distinct spatial environments, census tracts were categorized as either urban or rural. The results indicated that residential fire risk factors varied between urban and rural census tracts. Urban fire risk factors, such as the percentage of unoccupied dwellings and population density, were related to residential characteristics, but rural residential fire risk factors were impacted by economic activity, such as employment density. The spatial patterns of residential fires in major cities are dynamic, and for further analysis, a local-level study in Lucas County showed vacant housing was a significant predictor of residential fires in urban areas. High residential fire density in areas containing a high percentage of vacant housing suggests that areas experiencing economic hardship are more likely to have fire hazards.