In 2025, fire departments serving Delphi responded to 37 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 70% of all calls.
Nov peaks. Jul dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
283 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2022. $2.2M cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 60 | — | |
| 2022 | 68 | +13.3% | |
| 2023 | 53 | -22.1% | |
| 2024 | 65 | +22.6% | |
| 2025 | 37 | -43.1% |
For the 16 building fires Delphi departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 64 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 | 25 | 39.1% | |
| 2 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 7 | 10.9% | |
| 3 | Vehicle area, other | 6 | 9.4% | |
| 4 | Attic: vacant, crawl space above top story, cupola | 4 | 6.2% | |
| 5 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 4 | 6.2% | |
| 6 | Other | 2 | 3.1% | |
| 7 | Common room, den, family room, living room, lounge | 2 | 3.1% | |
| 8 | Exterior, exposed surface | 2 | 3.1% | |
| 9 | Function area, other | 1 | 1.6% | |
| 10 | Cooking area, kitchen | 1 | 1.6% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 10 | 15.6% |
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 Delphi mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 32 | 50.0% | |
| 2 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 5 | 7.8% | |
| 3 | Arcing | 4 | 6.2% | |
| 4 | Heat source: other | 3 | 4.7% | |
| 5 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 2 | 3.1% | |
| 6 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 2 | 3.1% | |
| 7 | Heat, spark from friction | 2 | 3.1% | |
| 8 | Hot ember or ash | 2 | 3.1% | |
| 9 | Heat from direct flame, convection currents | 2 | 3.1% | |
| 10 | Flying brand, ember, spark | 2 | 3.1% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 8 | 12.5% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Delphi departments in 2025. These 7 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $200,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 2 | $150,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $100,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 4 | $100,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 5 | $80,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 6 | $20,000 | Fire in mobile home used as fixed residence | Significant | Investigated |
| 7 | $10,000 | Mobile property (vehicle) fire, other | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Delphi sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 1 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 15 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2004 | Arson/incendiarism | 15 | 17.4 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 | 46923 | 283 |
Six Indiana cities with population within ±25% of Delphi. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
1 departments report to NFIRS for incidents in Delphi.
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.