In 2025, fire departments serving Edinburgh responded to 53 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $40K 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 87% of all calls.
Mar peaks. Sep dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
382 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2024. $315K cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 83 | — | |
| 2022 | 82 | -1.2% | |
| 2023 | 77 | -6.1% | |
| 2024 | 87 | +13.0% | |
| 2025 | 53 | -39.1% |
For the 25 building fires Edinburgh departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 71 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 | 18 | 25.4% | |
| 2 | Outside area, other | 9 | 12.7% | |
| 3 | Cooking area, kitchen | 5 | 7.0% | |
| 4 | Bedroom - < 5 persons; included are jail or prison | 4 | 5.6% | |
| 5 | Vehicle area, other | 4 | 5.6% | |
| 6 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 4 | 5.6% | |
| 7 | Vehicle storage area; garage, carport | 3 | 4.2% | |
| 8 | Attic: vacant, crawl space above top story, cupola | 3 | 4.2% | |
| 9 | Corridor, mall | 2 | 2.8% | |
| 10 | Common room, den, family room, living room, lounge | 2 | 2.8% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 17 | 23.9% |
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 Edinburgh mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 25 | 35.2% | |
| 2 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 10 | 14.1% | |
| 3 | Heat source: other | 8 | 11.3% | |
| 4 | Arcing | 6 | 8.5% | |
| 5 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 4 | 5.6% | |
| 6 | Hot ember or ash | 4 | 5.6% | |
| 7 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 3 | 4.2% | |
| 8 | Heat from other open flame or smoking materials | 3 | 4.2% | |
| 9 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 1 | 1.4% | |
| 10 | Molten, hot material | 1 | 1.4% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 6 | 8.5% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Edinburgh departments in 2025. These 2 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $40,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 2 | $20,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Edinburgh sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 5,173 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 | 5.6 mi | |
| 2010 | Arson/incendiarism | 870 | 38.1 mi | |
| 2010 | Arson/incendiarism | 450 | 38.2 mi | |
| 2003 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 300 | 37.7 mi | |
| 2011 | Arson/incendiarism | 280 | 37.9 mi | |
| 2015 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 220 | 38.0 mi | |
| 2001 | Arson/incendiarism | 200 | 38.2 mi | |
| 2020 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 182 | 41.9 mi | |
| 2007 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 165 | 7.6 mi | |
| 2007 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 156 | 7.9 mi | |
| 2011 | Arson/incendiarism | 100 | 37.6 mi | |
| 2018 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 74 | 38.0 mi |
Top 3 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 Edinburgh. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
1 departments report to NFIRS for incidents in Edinburgh.
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.