Smoke detectors and fire hazards in Columbus, Ohio

This page maps every fire safety report filed with the City of Columbus, Ohio: missing smoke detectors, exposed wiring, gas leaks, blocked exits, and other fire hazards.

About 170 of these reports also say the landlord or manager was told and did not act. A missing detector reported to management first is the stronger 311 case. Landlord and management complaints in Columbus →

Renting or buying

Renting or about to?

Working smoke detectors are the landlord’s job in Columbus rentals, and missing detectors are over half of this category.

On a tour, test a detector, look for exposed wiring, and check that every bedroom has a second way out.

Check an address on the live map →
Right now

Dealing with it right now?

If you smell gas or suspect carbon monoxide, leave and call 911 and Columbia Gas first. 311 is for afterward, not instead.

For missing detectors, exposed wires, or blocked exits, report to 311 with the address. Detector reports are how buildings get on an inspector’s radar before a fire.

Owners

Landlord or property manager?

Detectors in every required location, tested at turnover, prevent the reports that recur most. The rest of this category is the expensive kind of deferred maintenance.

Block Report

Is your building or block already on record for smoke detectors and fire hazards?

Search any Columbus address to see what neighbors reported in that building and on that block.

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Live map

Want to see all 1,372 fire safety reports on a map?

1,372 fire safety reports across Columbus, plus about 81,000 complaints of every kind, plotted block by block.

Smoke detectors and fire hazards map All complaints
Open live map ↗ Fire HazardsAll other

Where it's most reported

Neighborhoods ranked by rate, meaning each category's share of the neighborhood's reports against its citywide share, so big neighborhoods don't win just for being big. Only rates with enough reports behind them are listed.
#1Westgate & Hilliard fringe2.1×16 reports #2Victorian Village1.7×17 reports #3Short North1.6×32 reports #4North Linden1.5×82 reports

For contrast, rates run lowest in Far South / Steelton among the busiest areas.

See fire safety reports on the live map →

Often reported with

What else shows up at the same addresses. Address-level comparison, so this reads as a building-quality signal, not a coincidence of one phone call.
Mold and water damageAddresses with fire safety reports are about five times as likely to also have mold and water damage reports on file.→ RoachesAddresses with fire safety reports are about four times as likely to also have roach reports on file.→ Landlord and management complaintsAddresses with fire safety reports are about four times as likely to also have landlord complaints reports on file.→ Sewage backupsAddresses with fire safety reports are about four times as likely to also have sewage reports on file.→

When it gets reported

Share of the year's reports landing in each month. Each year is scaled to its own level before months are averaged, so a year with more reports, or a change in how the city takes them in, does not tilt the shape.
January · 7% of the year's reportsJFebruary · 7% of the year's reportsFMarch · 8% of the year's reportsMApril · 7% of the year's reportsAMay · 8% of the year's reportsMJune · 8% of the year's reportsJJuly · 12% of the year's reportsJAugust · 11% of the year's reportsASeptember · 10% of the year's reportsSOctober · 10% of the year's reportsONovember · 6% of the year's reportsNDecember · 8% of the year's reportsD

Reports peak in July at about one and a half times the volume of a typical month. The quietest month is November. A quiet autumn does not mean the problem went away. Reporting drops citywide in cold months.

All fire safety reports by month latest month: 87
87 JAN '25 SEP '26

Common questions

How do I report smoke detectors and fire hazards in Columbus?

For gas or carbon monoxide, get out and call 911 and the gas company first. For everything else, call 311 with the address and the hazard. Missing smoke detectors in a rental are a straightforward, enforceable report. The step-by-step reporting guide →

Are fire safety reports in Columbus going up?

They are steady. So far this year Columbus has logged about the same number of fire safety reports as the same months last year.

Where are fire safety reports most common in Columbus?

Rates run highest in Westgate & Hilliard fringe, Victorian Village and Short North, comparing each neighborhood's share of reports against the citywide share. No neighborhood is entirely without them.

Who is responsible for fixing smoke detectors and fire hazards?

Landlords must provide working smoke detectors in Columbus rentals. Electrical, structural, and exit hazards in a rental building are also the owner’s to fix.

Looking at a specific address?

Get the full Block Report, covering what's been reported at that exact address, the same building, and chronic neighbors within a third of a mile.

Search an address →
Source & method

What counts here. Reports of missing or dead smoke detectors, fire hazards, exposed wiring, gas leaks, carbon monoxide, structural collapse, and blocked exits.

Data comes from official City of Columbus code enforcement records (Accela portal + ArcGIS REST API). Reports are categorized by keyword matching on complaint narratives and city record types, so counts are reports filed, not verified conditions, and automated matching can misfile individual records. The data window covers JAN 2025 – SEP 2026, so month-of-year patterns will sharpen as full years accrue. Severity in this category is split by nature. About half the reports are routine detector checks and half are serious hazards, so no single average describes it.