In 2025, fire departments serving Culver responded to 25 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $200K 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 56% of all calls.
Mar peaks. Jan dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
149 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2024. $294K cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 25 | — | |
| 2022 | 26 | +4.0% | |
| 2023 | 31 | +19.2% | |
| 2024 | 42 | +35.5% | |
| 2025 | 25 | -40.5% |
For the 4 building fires Culver departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 25 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 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 5 | 20.0% | |
| 2 | Outside area, other | 4 | 16.0% | |
| 3 | Undetermined | 4 | 16.0% | |
| 4 | Cooking area, kitchen | 2 | 8.0% | |
| 5 | Vehicle storage area; garage, carport | 2 | 8.0% | |
| 6 | Interior stairway or ramp | 1 | 4.0% | |
| 7 | Function area, other | 1 | 4.0% | |
| 8 | Storage: supplies or tools; dead storage | 1 | 4.0% | |
| 9 | Structural area, other | 1 | 4.0% | |
| 10 | Exterior balcony, unenclosed porch | 1 | 4.0% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 3 | 12.0% |
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 Culver mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 7 | 28.0% | |
| 2 | Hot ember or ash | 4 | 16.0% | |
| 3 | Flying brand, ember, spark | 3 | 12.0% | |
| 4 | Arcing | 2 | 8.0% | |
| 5 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 2 | 8.0% | |
| 6 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 1 | 4.0% | |
| 7 | Fireworks | 1 | 4.0% | |
| 8 | Heat from other open flame or smoking materials | 1 | 4.0% | |
| 9 | Match | 1 | 4.0% | |
| 10 | Flame/torch used for lighting | 1 | 4.0% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 2 | 8.0% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Culver departments in 2025. These 1 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $200,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Culver sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 976 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | Railroad operations and maintenance | 182 | 49.9 mi | |
| 2003 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 130 | 49.9 mi | |
| 2001 | Arson/incendiarism | 60 | 49.8 mi | |
| 1992 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 47 | 44.7 mi | |
| 1994 | Equipment and vehicle use | 47 | 49.5 mi | |
| 2015 | Arson/incendiarism | 47 | 49.4 mi | |
| 2002 | Arson/incendiarism | 40 | 49.8 mi | |
| 2017 | Arson/incendiarism | 37 | 49.4 mi | |
| 2019 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 37 | 49.3 mi | |
| 2005 | Natural | 32 | 49.0 mi | |
| 1995 | Railroad operations and maintenance | 30 | 45.0 mi | |
| 2000 | Arson/incendiarism | 25 | 44.5 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 | 46511 | 149 |
Six Indiana cities with population within ±25% of Culver. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
1 departments report to NFIRS for incidents in Culver.
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.