In 2025, fire departments serving Ashley responded to 11 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $5K building blaze. Here's the full picture.
Trash or rubbish fire, contained lead by count. Building fires lead by dollars. Together the top five categories make up about 82% of all calls.
Feb peaks. Jan dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
83 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2024. $278K cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 17 | — | |
| 2022 | 13 | -23.5% | |
| 2023 | 19 | +46.2% | |
| 2024 | 23 | +21.1% | |
| 2025 | 11 | -52.2% |
For the 0 building fires Ashley departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 17 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 | 6 | 35.3% | |
| 2 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 3 | 17.6% | |
| 3 | Vehicle storage area; garage, carport | 2 | 11.8% | |
| 4 | Vehicle area, other | 2 | 11.8% | |
| 5 | Storage area, other | 1 | 5.9% | |
| 6 | Storage room, area, tank, or bin | 1 | 5.9% | |
| 7 | Cargo/trunk area - all vehicles | 1 | 5.9% | |
| 8 | Outside area, other | 1 | 5.9% |
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 Ashley mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 6 | 35.3% | |
| 2 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 2 | 11.8% | |
| 3 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 2 | 11.8% | |
| 4 | Arcing | 2 | 11.8% | |
| 5 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 1 | 5.9% | |
| 6 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 1 | 5.9% | |
| 7 | Hot ember or ash | 1 | 5.9% | |
| 8 | Heat from other open flame or smoking materials | 1 | 5.9% | |
| 9 | Heat spread from another fire, other | 1 | 5.9% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Ashley departments in 2025. These 1 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $5,000 | Trash or rubbish fire, contained | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Ashley sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 17 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 488 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2014 | Debris and open burning | 154 | 21.3 mi | |
| 2006 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 50 | 34.8 mi | |
| 2019 | Debris and open burning | 40 | 48.9 mi | |
| 2002 | Recreation and ceremony | 35 | 10.8 mi | |
| 2019 | Equipment and vehicle use | 25 | 23.4 mi | |
| 2019 | Equipment and vehicle use | 25 | 40.8 mi | |
| 2019 | Natural | 22 | 30.7 mi | |
| 2004 | Debris and open burning | 20 | 9.5 mi | |
| 2011 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 16 | 48.1 mi | |
| 2018 | Equipment and vehicle use | 15 | 37.3 mi | |
| 2019 | Equipment and vehicle use | 15 | 40.1 mi | |
| 2019 | Equipment and vehicle use | 15 | 48.1 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 | 46705 | 83 |
Six Indiana cities with population within ±25% of Ashley. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
1 departments report to NFIRS for incidents in Ashley.
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.