In 2025, fire departments serving Fort Branch responded to 28 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $1 building blaze. Here's the full picture.
Power line down lead by count. Building fires lead by dollars. Together the top five categories make up about 61% of all calls.
Mar peaks. Aug dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
144 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2024. $225K cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 34 | — | |
| 2022 | 29 | -14.7% | |
| 2023 | 18 | -37.9% | |
| 2024 | 35 | +94.4% | |
| 2025 | 28 | -20.0% |
For the 3 building fires Fort Branch departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 28 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 | 7 | 25.0% | |
| 2 | Vehicle area, other | 4 | 14.3% | |
| 3 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 3 | 10.7% | |
| 4 | Other | 2 | 7.1% | |
| 5 | Structural area, other | 2 | 7.1% | |
| 6 | Function area, other | 1 | 3.6% | |
| 7 | Cooking area, kitchen | 1 | 3.6% | |
| 8 | Processing/manufacturing area, workroom | 1 | 3.6% | |
| 9 | Storage area, other | 1 | 3.6% | |
| 10 | Vehicle storage area; garage, carport | 1 | 3.6% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 5 | 17.9% |
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 Fort Branch mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 17 | 60.7% | |
| 2 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 3 | 10.7% | |
| 3 | Heat source: other | 2 | 7.1% | |
| 4 | Arcing | 1 | 3.6% | |
| 5 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 1 | 3.6% | |
| 6 | Hot ember or ash | 1 | 3.6% | |
| 7 | Heat from undetermined smoking material | 1 | 3.6% | |
| 8 | Conducted heat from another fire | 1 | 3.6% | |
| 9 | Multiple heat sources including multiple ignitions | 1 | 3.6% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Fort Branch departments in 2025. These 2 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $1 | Cultivated vegetation, crop fire, other | Significant | Investigated |
| 2 | $1 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Fort Branch sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 2,943 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 | 15.8 mi | |
| 2012 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 418 | 14.1 mi | |
| 2006 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 365 | 21.9 mi | |
| 2006 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 356 | 19.0 mi | |
| 2006 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 98 | 44.9 mi | |
| 2001 | Debris and open burning | 95 | 38.1 mi | |
| 2001 | Smoking | 80 | 14.8 mi | |
| 2014 | Recreation and ceremony | 75 | 37.7 mi | |
| 1995 | Recreation and ceremony | 75 | 48.2 mi | |
| 2013 | Recreation and ceremony | 65 | 31.0 mi | |
| 2002 | Arson/incendiarism | 60 | 22.6 mi | |
| 2003 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 50 | 24.9 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 | 47648 | 144 |
Six Indiana cities with population within ±25% of Fort Branch. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
1 departments report to NFIRS for incidents in Fort Branch.
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.