In 2025, fire departments serving Fortville responded to 39 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $6K building blaze. Here's the full picture.
Gas leak (natural gas or LPG) lead by count. Building fires lead by dollars. Together the top five categories make up about 67% of all calls.
Jan peaks. Sep dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
275 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2024. $681K cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 51 | — | |
| 2022 | 47 | -7.8% | |
| 2023 | 51 | +8.5% | |
| 2024 | 87 | +70.6% | |
| 2025 | 39 | -55.2% |
For the 4 building fires Fortville departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 59 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 | 9 | 15.3% | |
| 2 | Undetermined | 8 | 13.6% | |
| 3 | Outside area, other | 7 | 11.9% | |
| 4 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 6 | 10.2% | |
| 5 | Cooking area, kitchen | 4 | 6.8% | |
| 6 | Wall surface: exterior | 4 | 6.8% | |
| 7 | Bedroom - < 5 persons; included are jail or prison | 2 | 3.4% | |
| 8 | Exterior balcony, unenclosed porch | 2 | 3.4% | |
| 9 | Attic: vacant, crawl space above top story, cupola | 2 | 3.4% | |
| 10 | Vehicle area, other | 2 | 3.4% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 13 | 22.0% |
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 Fortville mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 24 | 40.7% | |
| 2 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 4 | 6.8% | |
| 3 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 4 | 6.8% | |
| 4 | Arcing | 4 | 6.8% | |
| 5 | Radiated heat from another fire | 4 | 6.8% | |
| 6 | Hot ember or ash | 3 | 5.1% | |
| 7 | Cigarette lighter | 3 | 5.1% | |
| 8 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 2 | 3.4% | |
| 9 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 2 | 3.4% | |
| 10 | Cigarette | 2 | 3.4% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 7 | 11.9% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Fortville departments in 2025. These 2 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $5,500 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 2 | $5,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Fortville sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 5 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 1,900 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 | 42.5 mi | |
| 2007 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 165 | 46.6 mi | |
| 2007 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 156 | 46.6 mi | |
| 2005 | Recreation and ceremony | 20 | 49.5 mi | |
| 2005 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 10 | 43.9 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 Fortville. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
1 departments report to NFIRS for incidents in Fortville.
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.