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2025 Annual Fire Report

Fires in Greensburg, Indiana

In 2025, fire departments serving Greensburg responded to 84 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $390K building blaze. Here's the full picture.

Updated Sep 27, 2026 Grade B- Peak yr 2024 Decatur County 11,431 residents 3 reporting departments 987 5-yr

Incomplete 2025 data. Greensburg's departments reported 84 incidents to NFIRS for 2025, against about 197 in a typical year, so 2025 figures on this page undercount. The 2021–2025 totals are the better guide.

Total incidents
84
Not comparable with 2024 (incomplete reporting)
Building fires
24
Residential 67% Other 33%
Property loss
$847K
$702K structure · $145K contents
Deaths & injuries
0 / 0
0 civilian deaths · 0 civ injuries · 0 firefighter injuries
01 The mix

What kinds of fires happen here?

Building fires lead by count. Building fires lead by dollars. Together the top five categories make up about 68% of all calls.

84
Total Incidents
Building fires 24 28.6%
Power line down 16 19.0%
Passenger vehicle fire 7 8.3%
Chemical spill or leak 6 7.1%
Chimney or flue fire, confined to chimney or flue 4 4.8%
All other categories 27 32.1%
02 Seasonality

When do fires happen?

Jan peaks. May dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.

Jan 25
Feb 22
Mar 5
Apr 5
May 0
Jun 11
Jul 2
Aug 3
Sep 0
Oct 1
Nov 9
Dec 1
Fewer
More
2b Five-year trend

Year over year in Greensburg

987 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2024. $4.8M cumulative property loss.

YearIncidentsYoY 
2021 185 —
2022 210 +13.5%
2023 226 +7.6%
2024 282 +24.8%
2025* 84 —

* Well below Greensburg's usual volume. That almost always means one or more departments didn't submit a full year to NFIRS, not that fires dropped, so no year-over-year change is shown for it.

03 Cause of ignition

What sparks building fires?

For the 24 building fires Greensburg departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.

Unintentional
42%
8
Cause undetermined
16%
3
Intentional / arson
11%
2
Equipment / heat source failure
21%
4
Under investigation
11%
2
Act of nature (lightning)
-1%
0
3b Where fires start

Where do fires start in Greensburg?

NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 243 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 originCountShare 
1 Outside area, other 40 16.5%
2 Engine area, running gear, wheel area 32 13.2%
3 Cooking area, kitchen 25 10.3%
4 Undetermined 23 9.5%
5 Open area - outside; included are farmland, field 12 4.9%
6 Attic: vacant, crawl space above top story, cupola 10 4.1%
7 Other 9 3.7%
8 Vehicle storage area; garage, carport 9 3.7%
9 Highway, parking lot, street: on or near 7 2.9%
10 Wall assembly 5 2.1%
11 All other areas 71 29.2%
3c What ignited it

What actually ignited the fire?

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 Greensburg mix.

#Heat sourceCountShare 
1 Undetermined 85 35.0%
2 Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment 33 13.6%
3 Arcing 16 6.6%
4 Cigarette lighter 13 5.3%
5 Heat source: other 11 4.5%
6 Hot or smoldering object, other 10 4.1%
7 Hot ember or ash 10 4.1%
8 Heat from powered equipment, other 9 3.7%
9 Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment 9 3.7%
10 Cigarette 9 3.7%
11 All other sources 38 15.6%
04 The biggest fires

8 fires · $701K in losses

Largest single-incident property losses reported by Greensburg departments in 2025. These 8 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.

# Property loss Type Severity Status
1 $390,000 Building fires Major Investigated
2 $200,000 Building fires Significant Investigated
3 $50,000 Building fires Significant Investigated
4 $25,000 Cultivated grain or crop fire Significant Investigated
5 $15,000 Building fires Significant Investigated
6 $10,000 Building fires Significant Investigated
7 $6,000 Building fires Significant Investigated
8 $5,000 Passenger vehicle fire Significant Investigated
05 How Greensburg compares

Greensburg vs Indiana vs the nation

Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Greensburg sits below the national average for incidents per resident.

7.35
Incidents per 1,000 residents
Greensburg
7.35
IN avg
8.62
US avg
7.48
2.1
Building fires per 1,000 residents
Greensburg
2.1
IN avg
1.27
US avg
0.85
0
Civilian fire deaths per million
Greensburg
0
IN avg
4.4
US avg
5.9
5c Wildfires nearby

Wildfires within 50 mi of Greensburg

Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 5,173 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.

50 mi radius
YearCauseAcresDistance 
2007 Missing data/not specified/undetermined 1,549 30.1 mi
2010 Arson/incendiarism 870 25.0 mi
2010 Arson/incendiarism 450 25.3 mi
2003 Missing data/not specified/undetermined 300 24.9 mi
2011 Arson/incendiarism 280 24.2 mi
2015 Missing data/not specified/undetermined 220 25.0 mi
2001 Arson/incendiarism 200 25.4 mi
2020 Missing data/not specified/undetermined 182 30.7 mi
2007 Missing data/not specified/undetermined 165 30.2 mi
2007 Missing data/not specified/undetermined 156 30.8 mi
2011 Arson/incendiarism 100 24.4 mi
2018 Missing data/not specified/undetermined 74 24.9 mi
5d Top ZIPs

Where in Greensburg do fires concentrate?

Top 8 ZIP codes by NFIRS incident count across 2021–2025. Each ZIP has its own fire profile — dive in for neighborhood-level context.

#ZIP5-yr incidents 
1 47240 980
2 46176 1
3 47140 1
4 47204 1
5 47249 1
6 47263 1
7 47265 1
8 67211 1
5e Peer cities

Cities similar to Greensburg

Six Indiana cities with population within ±25% of Greensburg. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.

06 First responders

Who responds in Greensburg?

3 departments report to NFIRS for incidents in Greensburg.

Greensburg FD
528 N Ireland ST N
FDID 1600430 paid · 4 volunteer
Letts VFD
FDID 16005Volunteer
New Point VFD
S 1959 S County RD 825 E
FDID 16007Volunteer
07 Stay prepared

Before the next Red Flag day.

A 30-minute weekend can cut your home's exposure substantially. These four checklists are a good starting point.

About this data

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.