In 2025, fire departments serving Dale responded to 11 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $25K building blaze. Here's the full picture.
Incomplete 2025 data. Dale's departments reported 11 incidents to NFIRS for 2025, against about 24 in a typical year, so 2025 figures on this page undercount. The 2021–2025 totals are the better guide.
Building fires lead by count. Building fires lead by dollars. Together the top five categories make up about 73% of all calls.
Mar peaks. Jan dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
121 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2023. $268K cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 17 | — | |
| 2022 | 19 | +11.8% | |
| 2023 | 39 | +105.3% | |
| 2024 | 35 | -10.3% | |
| 2025* | 11 | — |
* Well below Dale's usual volume. That almost always means one or more departments didn't submit a full year to NFIRS, not that fires dropped, so no year-over-year change is shown for it.
For the 3 building fires Dale departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 38 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 | 6 | 15.8% | |
| 2 | Undetermined | 6 | 15.8% | |
| 3 | Equipment or service area, other | 4 | 10.5% | |
| 4 | Vehicle area, other | 4 | 10.5% | |
| 5 | Vehicle storage area; garage, carport | 3 | 7.9% | |
| 6 | Processing/manufacturing area, workroom | 2 | 5.3% | |
| 7 | Cargo/trunk area - all vehicles | 2 | 5.3% | |
| 8 | Common room, den, family room, living room, lounge | 1 | 2.6% | |
| 9 | Bedroom - < 5 persons; included are jail or prison | 1 | 2.6% | |
| 10 | Cooking area, kitchen | 1 | 2.6% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 8 | 21.1% |
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 Dale mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 9 | 23.7% | |
| 2 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 6 | 15.8% | |
| 3 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 5 | 13.2% | |
| 4 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 5 | 13.2% | |
| 5 | Arcing | 4 | 10.5% | |
| 6 | Heat, spark from friction | 4 | 10.5% | |
| 7 | Heat source: other | 1 | 2.6% | |
| 8 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 1 | 2.6% | |
| 9 | Heat from other open flame or smoking materials | 1 | 2.6% | |
| 10 | Lightning | 1 | 2.6% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 1 | 2.6% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Dale departments in 2025. These 2 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $25,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 2 | $20,000 | Mobile property (vehicle) fire, other | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Dale sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 3,885 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2013 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 716 | 20.8 mi | |
| 2012 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 418 | 23.5 mi | |
| 2006 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 365 | 20.1 mi | |
| 2006 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 356 | 13.8 mi | |
| 1999 | Arson/incendiarism | 300 | 25.7 mi | |
| 1999 | Arson/incendiarism | 157 | 32.3 mi | |
| 2012 | Debris and open burning | 132 | 45.2 mi | |
| 2008 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 110 | 45.4 mi | |
| 2006 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 100 | 22.6 mi | |
| 2016 | Recreation and ceremony | 100 | 34.2 mi | |
| 2006 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 98 | 19.3 mi | |
| 2001 | Debris and open burning | 95 | 12.5 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 | 47523 | 121 |
Six Indiana cities with population within ±25% of Dale. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
2 departments report to NFIRS for incidents in Dale.
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.