In 2025, fire departments serving Georgetown responded to 29 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $100K 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 52% of all calls.
Jun peaks. Feb dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
214 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2022. $535K cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 41 | — | |
| 2022 | 62 | +51.2% | |
| 2023 | 31 | -50.0% | |
| 2024 | 51 | +64.5% | |
| 2025 | 29 | -43.1% |
For the 6 building fires Georgetown departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 45 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 | Outside area, other | 9 | 20.0% | |
| 2 | Undetermined | 9 | 20.0% | |
| 3 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 8 | 17.8% | |
| 4 | Common room, den, family room, living room, lounge | 4 | 8.9% | |
| 5 | Bathroom, checkroom, lavatory, locker room | 3 | 6.7% | |
| 6 | Cooking area, kitchen | 2 | 4.4% | |
| 7 | Wall surface: exterior | 2 | 4.4% | |
| 8 | Other | 1 | 2.2% | |
| 9 | Bedroom - < 5 persons; included are jail or prison | 1 | 2.2% | |
| 10 | Storage area, other | 1 | 2.2% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 5 | 11.1% |
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 Georgetown mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 19 | 42.2% | |
| 2 | Heat source: other | 4 | 8.9% | |
| 3 | Arcing | 4 | 8.9% | |
| 4 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 3 | 6.7% | |
| 5 | Hot ember or ash | 3 | 6.7% | |
| 6 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 2 | 4.4% | |
| 7 | Flame/torch used for lighting | 2 | 4.4% | |
| 8 | Heat spread from another fire, other | 2 | 4.4% | |
| 9 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 1 | 2.2% | |
| 10 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 1 | 2.2% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 4 | 8.9% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Georgetown departments in 2025. These 5 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $100,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 2 | $20,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $1,500 | Cooking fire, confined to container | Significant | Investigated |
| 4 | $1,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 5 | $1 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Georgetown sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 2,979 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2004 | Arson/incendiarism | 354 | 42.7 mi | |
| 1999 | Arson/incendiarism | 300 | 48.3 mi | |
| 2010 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 250 | 20.4 mi | |
| 1999 | Smoking | 201 | 46.6 mi | |
| 1999 | Arson/incendiarism | 157 | 23.6 mi | |
| 2010 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 144 | 21.1 mi | |
| 2007 | Railroad operations and maintenance | 117 | 46.6 mi | |
| 2006 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 100 | 46.8 mi | |
| 2009 | Debris and open burning | 97 | 43.3 mi | |
| 2014 | Debris and open burning | 95 | 45.5 mi | |
| 2018 | Debris and open burning | 95 | 36.5 mi | |
| 2008 | Railroad operations and maintenance | 94 | 47.4 mi |
Top 2 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 Georgetown. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
1 departments report to NFIRS for incidents in Georgetown.
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.