Photo: Balcer~commonswiki · CC BY 2.5Hazards in Ingersoll: wildfire low, radon over the guideline in 12% of tested homes
Wildfire barely registers for Ingersoll, at 0% of the land within 25 km since 1986 (0.000% a year). NRCan expects $0.021 of shaking damage a year per $1,000 of buildings in Ingersoll, near the typical $0.030. Hazard risk gives Ingersoll a grade of B−, from earthquakes and radon alone.
What stands out about Ingersoll’s hazards
For Ingersoll, from NRCan’s seismic model, Health Canada’s radon survey, the national burned-area record and the flood map inventory.
What Ingersoll faces
Each hazard against its own yardstick; meters run from low to high on that yardstick.
Wildfire
Earthquakes
Radon
Flood study
Ingersoll grades B− for hazard risk
Risk averages earthquakes and radon; wildfire joins only where it pulls the average down, so a town like Ingersoll with little fire nearby would get no credit for it.
Its place: #664 of 866 in Ontario and #1,716 of 2,589 Canadian towns.
How sure: Earthquake losses are a model’s expectation over many years, not a forecast for any one. The burned-area record misses fires under about 10 ha and most grass and farm fires.
Wildfire is rare near Ingersoll: 0% of the land within 25 km burned since 1986, 0% within 5 km
Past fire around Ingersoll’s homes, from the national burned-area record, with the fuel within 5 km.
Forty years of fire maps put Ingersoll at 0.000% a year, low next to the typical Canadian town’s 0.000%.
With 0.4% forest fuel within 5 km and 0.7% within 25 km, the land around Ingersoll gives a fire little to burn.
Shares of land within 5 and 25 km of populated blocks: burned at least once in 1986–2025 (CWFIS burned-area composite), forest fuel and grass (fire behaviour fuel types, 2026, 250 m grid).
Burn rate a year, towns in Ontario · highest of 871
To three decimals the burn rate around Ingersoll is zero, as for 638 of the 871 towns in Ontario, while Sioux Lookout reaches 0.16%.
Each bar: the yearly average share of land within 25 km of a town’s homes that burned, 1986–2025 (CWFIS); the seven highest towns of 2,500 people or more.
Most of the country’s 2,610 towns are low-band (92%, against 7.5% above); around Ingersoll, burning rounds to zero.
Bands of the yearly burn rate: low under 0.05%, moderate under 0.25%, high under 1%, very high 1% or more; towns of 2,500 people or more.
Fire danger and active fires (CWFIS)
Canadian Wildland Fire Information System: National Burned Area Composite 1986–2025 and fire behaviour fuel types (2026), Natural Resources Canada. Measured within 25 km and 5 km of each populated dissemination area; past fire, not a forecast.
No flood study is listed for Ingersoll
What Canada’s Flood Map Inventory lists for Ingersoll: who studied flooding and where to see their maps.
An empty entry for Ingersoll on the inventory isn’t proof of safety; ask locally for flood maps.
Towns with a flood study on file
Ingersoll has no flood study on file, though 69% of towns in Ontario do (Canada: 58%).
NRCan Canada Flood Map Inventory: a study footprint touching the town’s boundary; towns of 2,500 people or more.
Flood mapping is shown for Ingersoll to be opened and checked, never turned into a grade.
The inventory’s own caution (NRCan): “The Canada Flood Map (CFM) does not include every flood hazard map in Canada and may be incomplete or contain inaccuracies. It should not be relied upon as the official source of flood mapping information. Furthermore, if a map appears to be missing, this does not necessarily mean that the area has never been mapped. For the official version of a map, updated information, or confirmation of applicable regulations, please contact the local authority responsible for flood mapping.”
Ordinary seismic risk in Ingersoll: $0.021 per $1,000 of buildings a year
Expected yearly building losses from earthquakes, from Natural Resources Canada’s model.
At $0.021 per $1,000, Ingersoll’s earthquake risk is about the typical Canadian town’s ($0.030; 0.7 times).
Shaking damage a year per $1,000 of building value
Ingersoll’s $0.021 sits under the median in Ontario, $0.043, and well under Alexandria’s $0.21.
NRCan seismic risk model (2022): mean yearly building loss per $1,000 of value; medians of towns of 2,500 people or more.
Neither high nor low for Canada: 63% of the 2,611 towns expect more damage than Ingersoll.
Each column: the share of Canada’s towns of 2,500 people or more in that range of yearly loss per $1,000 (NRCan, 2022).
Only shaking damage to buildings in Ingersoll is counted; landslides, liquefaction, tsunami and fire after a quake aren’t.
Natural Resources Canada, Canada’s Seismic Risk Model (2022), by census subdivision (2016 boundaries; a few 2021 subdivisions take their residents’ mean).
Radon runs high around Ingersoll: 12% of tested homes over the guideline
Long-term radon tests in homes across the survey area, against Health Canada’s guideline. · Shared with the rest of the Oxford County Health Unit: radon tests
Radon runs above the typical Canadian town (6.6%) in Ingersoll’s area, at 12%.
Tested homes over 200 Bq/m³
Over 600 Bq/m³
Around Ingersoll, 12% of tests were over 200 Bq/m³ and 1% over 600, against a median of 4% in Ontario.
Health Canada radon survey (2009–2011), by 2007 health region; medians of towns of 2,500 people or more.
The 10–20% band holds 22% of Canada’s 2,611 towns, Ingersoll among them; 4.6% rank above.
Each bar: the share of Canada’s towns of 2,500 people or more whose survey area had that share of tests over 200 Bq/m³.
Radon varies from house to house in Ingersoll, so the survey is a reason to test, not a result for yours.
Health Canada, Cross-Canada Survey of Radon Concentrations in Homes (2009–2011).
Where to get warnings in Ingersoll
Alerts for Ingersoll come from Environment and Climate Change Canada and, for emergencies, Alert Ready.
| Alert | What it means |
|---|---|
| Warning | Severe weather is happening or about to: act now. |
| Watch | Conditions favour severe weather: be ready. |
| Advisory | Weather that is less severe but could disrupt the day. |
| Special weather statement | Unusual weather worth knowing about. |
| Special air quality statement | Poor air, often wildfire smoke. |
Alert Ready carries evacuation orders for Ingersoll to phones; CWFIS shows the day’s fire danger.
Weather alerts (ECCC) · Alert Ready · Fire danger and active fires (CWFIS)
How Ingersoll’s neighbours compare on hazards
Wildfire band, earthquake risk, radon and flood studies for each place nearby.
| Town | Wildfire | Quake $/1,000 | Radon | Flood study |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ingersoll | Low | $0.021 | 12% | None listed |
| South-West Oxford 8,375 · 9.1 km | Low | $0.022 | 12% | None listed |
| Thamesford 9,755 · 13 km | Low | $0.019 | 12% | None listed |
| Dorchester 15,475 · 15 km | Low | $0.020 | 1.8% | None listed |
| Woodstock 55,572 · 16 km | Low | $0.019 | 12% | Yes |
Among its neighbours Ingersoll has the most fire on record (low); South-West Oxford follows (low).
Radon is the survey area’s figure, so neighbours in one area share it.
Get ready for what Ingersoll faces
What to do about the hazards Ingersoll faces, and what to ask before you buy.
- Test for three months in winter.
- Over 200 Bq/m³: fix it.
- Kits are cheap; pros test too.
- Never drive through floodwater.
- Move papers and medicines upstairs.
- Ask whether your street is mapped.
- Clear needles and wood nearby.
- Keep a grab-and-go bag ready.
- In smoke, stay in; filter air.
- Has it had a radon test?
- Ask the municipality for flood maps.
- Are flood and wildfire insured?
What this data can and can’t tell you
- Earthquakes are modelled. The earthquake figure is an expected loss, not a forecast, worked out by NRCan for each census subdivision, Ingersoll’s included.
- Radon is a survey. Health Canada’s survey tested some 14,000 homes over three months; until postal-area boundaries are loaded, Ingersoll takes its 2007 health region’s share.
- Wildfire counts one way. Burned land within 25 km of where people live, averaged over 1986–2025 and checked for fuel near homes, is the measure; it looks back, not ahead, and only ever counts against Ingersoll.
- Flood studies aren’t flood zones. The flood inventory points to maps; it is incomplete and not the official source, so ask the municipality about any street in Ingersoll.
Questions about flooding and hazards in Ingersoll
Does Ingersoll flood?
With 0 studies on the inventory, Ingersoll’s flood risk is unmapped nationally; check with the municipality before buying.
How is Ingersoll’s Hazard risk Grade worked out?
Ingersoll grades B− for hazard risk, from earthquakes and radon, with wildfire counted only where it lowers the grade.
How big is the earthquake risk in Ingersoll?
In NRCan’s seismic model, Ingersoll’s buildings lose $0.021 per $1,000 of value in an average year.
Is Ingersoll at risk of wildfire?
The burned-area record shows next to nothing around Ingersoll (0% within 25 km since 1986), so its band is low.
Is radon a problem in Ingersoll?
Around Ingersoll, 104 survey homes were tested and 12% came in over 200 Bq/m³, a guide to the area, not to any one home.
Seismic risk: Natural Resources Canada. Radon: Health Canada. Wildfire: Canadian Wildland Fire Information System. Flood studies: Natural Resources Canada, Canada Flood Map Inventory. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Canada.
Sources: NRCan, Canada’s Seismic Risk Model 2022 · Health Canada, Cross-Canada Survey of Radon Concentrations in Homes · CWFIS, National Burned Area Composite and FBP fuel types · NRCan, Canada Flood Map Inventory. Under the Statistics Canada Open Licence.
Adapted from Statistics Canada (Census of Population 2021, population estimates 2025, 2021 census boundaries) under the Statistics Canada Open Licence; this does not constitute an endorsement by Statistics Canada. Neighbourhood names in some cities © OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL).