In 2025, fire departments serving Indianola responded to 29 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $200K building blaze. Here's the full picture.
Power line down lead by count. Building fires lead by dollars. Together the top five categories make up about 83% of all calls.
Feb peaks. Sep dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
145 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2022. $255K cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 29 | — | |
| 2022 | 35 | +20.7% | |
| 2023 | 28 | -20.0% | |
| 2024 | 24 | -14.3% | |
| 2025 | 29 | +20.8% |
For the 3 building fires Indianola departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 11 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 | 3 | 27.3% | |
| 2 | Common room, den, family room, living room, lounge | 1 | 9.1% | |
| 3 | Function area, other | 1 | 9.1% | |
| 4 | Cooking area, kitchen | 1 | 9.1% | |
| 5 | Ceiling & floor assembly, crawl space b/t stories | 1 | 9.1% | |
| 6 | Attic: vacant, crawl space above top story, cupola | 1 | 9.1% | |
| 7 | Wall assembly | 1 | 9.1% | |
| 8 | Wall surface: exterior | 1 | 9.1% | |
| 9 | Undetermined | 1 | 9.1% |
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 Indianola mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Fireworks | 3 | 27.3% | |
| 2 | Undetermined | 3 | 27.3% | |
| 3 | Hot ember or ash | 2 | 18.2% | |
| 4 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 1 | 9.1% | |
| 5 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 1 | 9.1% | |
| 6 | Flame/torch used for lighting | 1 | 9.1% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Indianola departments in 2025. These 1 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $200,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Indianola sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 13,596 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2018 | Equipment and vehicle use | 3,312 | 31.1 mi | |
| 2016 | Natural | 2,475 | 42.4 mi | |
| 2011 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 1,243 | 27.9 mi | |
| 2006 | Fireworks | 1,100 | 40.3 mi | |
| 2009 | Natural | 817 | 31.0 mi | |
| 1997 | Debris and open burning | 594 | 41.0 mi | |
| 2020 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 494 | 38.8 mi | |
| 2009 | Natural | 443 | 29.3 mi | |
| 2002 | Debris and open burning | 400 | 48.7 mi | |
| 2010 | Natural | 385 | 38.0 mi | |
| 2017 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 360 | 43.9 mi | |
| 1999 | Natural | 294 | 29.3 mi |
Top 4 ZIP codes by NFIRS incident count across 2021–2025. Each ZIP has its own fire profile — dive in for neighborhood-level context.
Six Washington cities with population within ±25% of Indianola. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
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.