In 2025, fire departments serving Franklin responded to 198 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $250K 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 60% of all calls.
Apr peaks. Sep dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
1,161 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2023. $1.4M cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 203 | — | |
| 2022 | 268 | +32.0% | |
| 2023 | 277 | +3.4% | |
| 2024 | 215 | -22.4% | |
| 2025 | 198 | -7.9% |
For the 36 building fires Franklin departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 191 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 | 33 | 17.3% | |
| 2 | Undetermined | 32 | 16.8% | |
| 3 | Outside area, other | 22 | 11.5% | |
| 4 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 16 | 8.4% | |
| 5 | Vehicle area, other | 14 | 7.3% | |
| 6 | Cargo/trunk area - all vehicles | 10 | 5.2% | |
| 7 | Other | 9 | 4.7% | |
| 8 | Cooking area, kitchen | 7 | 3.7% | |
| 9 | Vehicle storage area; garage, carport | 5 | 2.6% | |
| 10 | Wall surface: exterior | 4 | 2.1% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 39 | 20.4% |
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 Franklin mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 68 | 35.6% | |
| 2 | Heat source: other | 33 | 17.3% | |
| 3 | Arcing | 16 | 8.4% | |
| 4 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 16 | 8.4% | |
| 5 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 14 | 7.3% | |
| 6 | Flame/torch used for lighting | 6 | 3.1% | |
| 7 | Hot ember or ash | 5 | 2.6% | |
| 8 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 4 | 2.1% | |
| 9 | Heat, spark from friction | 4 | 2.1% | |
| 10 | Lightning | 4 | 2.1% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 21 | 11.0% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Franklin departments in 2025. These 8 fires alone account for 97% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $250,000 | Building fires | Major | Investigated |
| 2 | $200,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $75,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 4 | $60,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 5 | $30,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 6 | $20,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 7 | $10,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 8 | $10,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Franklin sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 5,016 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 | 11.2 mi | |
| 2010 | Arson/incendiarism | 870 | 48.4 mi | |
| 2010 | Arson/incendiarism | 450 | 48.6 mi | |
| 2003 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 300 | 48.1 mi | |
| 2011 | Arson/incendiarism | 280 | 48.2 mi | |
| 2015 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 220 | 48.4 mi | |
| 2001 | Arson/incendiarism | 200 | 48.6 mi | |
| 2007 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 165 | 15.5 mi | |
| 2007 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 156 | 15.3 mi | |
| 2011 | Arson/incendiarism | 100 | 47.9 mi | |
| 2018 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 74 | 48.4 mi | |
| 2020 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 72 | 48.3 mi |
Top 6 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 Franklin. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
1 departments report to NFIRS for incidents in Franklin.
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.