In 2025, fire departments serving Argos responded to 20 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $30K building blaze. Here's the full picture.
Passenger vehicle fire lead by count. Building fires lead by dollars. Together the top five categories make up about 50% of all calls.
Mar peaks. Feb dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
95 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2021. $916K cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 25 | — | |
| 2022 | 15 | -40.0% | |
| 2023 | 21 | +40.0% | |
| 2024 | 14 | -33.3% | |
| 2025 | 20 | +42.9% |
For the 0 building fires Argos departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 32 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 | 12 | 37.5% | |
| 2 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 9 | 28.1% | |
| 3 | Other | 1 | 3.1% | |
| 4 | Entrance way, lobby | 1 | 3.1% | |
| 5 | Cooking area, kitchen | 1 | 3.1% | |
| 6 | Storage area, other | 1 | 3.1% | |
| 7 | Vehicle storage area; garage, carport | 1 | 3.1% | |
| 8 | Service facilities, other | 1 | 3.1% | |
| 9 | Equipment or service area, other | 1 | 3.1% | |
| 10 | Ceiling & floor assembly, crawl space b/t stories | 1 | 3.1% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 3 | 9.4% |
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 Argos mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 13 | 40.6% | |
| 2 | Arcing | 5 | 15.6% | |
| 3 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 3 | 9.4% | |
| 4 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 2 | 6.2% | |
| 5 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 2 | 6.2% | |
| 6 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 2 | 6.2% | |
| 7 | Heat source: other | 1 | 3.1% | |
| 8 | Heat, spark from friction | 1 | 3.1% | |
| 9 | Hot ember or ash | 1 | 3.1% | |
| 10 | Heat from other open flame or smoking materials | 1 | 3.1% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 1 | 3.1% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Argos departments in 2025. These 3 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $30,000 | Mobile property (vehicle) fire, other | Significant | Investigated |
| 2 | $25,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $20,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Argos sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 6 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 100 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2003 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 25 | 44.2 mi | |
| 1995 | Railroad operations and maintenance | 22 | 49.0 mi | |
| 1996 | Debris and open burning | 16 | 48.4 mi | |
| 2002 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 15 | 9.6 mi | |
| 2017 | Arson/incendiarism | 12 | 45.5 mi | |
| 1995 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 10 | 48.5 mi |
Top 1 ZIP codes by NFIRS incident count across 2021–2025. Each ZIP has its own fire profile — dive in for neighborhood-level context.
| # | ZIP | 5-yr incidents | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 46501 | 95 |
Six Indiana cities with population within ±25% of Argos. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
1 departments report to NFIRS for incidents in Argos.
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.