In 2025, fire departments serving Brownsburg responded to 268 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $261K building blaze. Here's the full picture.
Building fires lead by count. Building fires lead by dollars. Together the top five categories make up about 59% of all calls.
Apr peaks. Sep dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
1,144 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2025. $3.5M cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 189 | — | |
| 2022 | 202 | +6.9% | |
| 2023 | 241 | +19.3% | |
| 2024 | 244 | +1.2% | |
| 2025 | 268 | +9.8% |
For the 55 building fires Brownsburg departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 181 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 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 30 | 16.6% | |
| 2 | Undetermined | 28 | 15.5% | |
| 3 | Outside area, other | 19 | 10.5% | |
| 4 | Cooking area, kitchen | 15 | 8.3% | |
| 5 | Vehicle storage area; garage, carport | 11 | 6.1% | |
| 6 | Other | 7 | 3.9% | |
| 7 | Cargo/trunk area - all vehicles | 7 | 3.9% | |
| 8 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 7 | 3.9% | |
| 9 | Bedroom - < 5 persons; included are jail or prison | 6 | 3.3% | |
| 10 | Wall surface: exterior | 5 | 2.8% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 46 | 25.4% |
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 Brownsburg mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 87 | 48.1% | |
| 2 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 13 | 7.2% | |
| 3 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 11 | 6.1% | |
| 4 | Arcing | 10 | 5.5% | |
| 5 | Hot ember or ash | 8 | 4.4% | |
| 6 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 7 | 3.9% | |
| 7 | Cigarette lighter | 7 | 3.9% | |
| 8 | Heat source: other | 6 | 3.3% | |
| 9 | Flame/torch used for lighting | 5 | 2.8% | |
| 10 | Lightning | 5 | 2.8% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 22 | 12.2% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Brownsburg departments in 2025. These 8 fires alone account for 81% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $261,200 | Building fires | Major | Investigated |
| 2 | $150,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $100,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 4 | $100,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 5 | $100,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 6 | $100,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 7 | $75,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 8 | $50,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Brownsburg sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 8 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 1,967 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2007 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 1,549 | 38.5 mi | |
| 2007 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 165 | 42.6 mi | |
| 2007 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 156 | 42.2 mi | |
| 2001 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 40 | 42.7 mi | |
| 1998 | Debris and open burning | 22 | 49.6 mi | |
| 2004 | Arson/incendiarism | 15 | 41.7 mi | |
| 2016 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 10 | 48.4 mi | |
| 2005 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 10 | 47.7 mi |
Top 9 ZIP codes by NFIRS incident count across 2021–2025. Each ZIP has its own fire profile — dive in for neighborhood-level context.
Six Indiana cities with population within ±25% of Brownsburg. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
1 departments report to NFIRS for incidents in Brownsburg.
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.