In 2025, fire departments serving Goshen responded to 231 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $1.0M 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 55% of all calls.
Jun peaks. Sep dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
1,203 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2022. $11.6M cumulative property loss. 1 civilian deaths.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 264 | — | |
| 2022 | 287 | +8.7% | |
| 2023 | 218 | -24.0% | |
| 2024 | 203 | -6.9% | |
| 2025 | 231 | +13.8% |
For the 49 building fires Goshen departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 407 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 | 110 | 27.0% | |
| 2 | Outside area, other | 50 | 12.3% | |
| 3 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 44 | 10.8% | |
| 4 | Other | 31 | 7.6% | |
| 5 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 20 | 4.9% | |
| 6 | Cooking area, kitchen | 15 | 3.7% | |
| 7 | Vehicle storage area; garage, carport | 12 | 2.9% | |
| 8 | Equipment or service area, other | 10 | 2.5% | |
| 9 | Bedroom - < 5 persons; included are jail or prison | 9 | 2.2% | |
| 10 | Processing/manufacturing area, workroom | 8 | 2.0% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 98 | 24.1% |
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 Goshen mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 209 | 51.4% | |
| 2 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 26 | 6.4% | |
| 3 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 24 | 5.9% | |
| 4 | Arcing | 21 | 5.2% | |
| 5 | Heat source: other | 16 | 3.9% | |
| 6 | Hot ember or ash | 13 | 3.2% | |
| 7 | Cigarette lighter | 12 | 2.9% | |
| 8 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 11 | 2.7% | |
| 9 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 11 | 2.7% | |
| 10 | Flame/torch used for lighting | 10 | 2.5% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 54 | 13.3% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Goshen departments in 2025. These 8 fires alone account for 88% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $1,000,000 | Building fires | Major | Investigated |
| 2 | $200,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $150,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 4 | $150,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 5 | $100,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 6 | $100,000 | Fire, other | Significant | Investigated |
| 7 | $85,000 | Off-road vehicle or heavy equipment fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 8 | $75,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Goshen sits below the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 6 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 251 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2014 | Debris and open burning | 154 | 44.5 mi | |
| 2002 | Recreation and ceremony | 35 | 44.8 mi | |
| 2004 | Debris and open burning | 20 | 44.4 mi | |
| 2002 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 15 | 31.5 mi | |
| 2018 | Equipment and vehicle use | 15 | 19.3 mi | |
| 2017 | Arson/incendiarism | 12 | 15.0 mi |
Top 7 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 Goshen. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
1 departments report to NFIRS for incidents in Goshen.
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.