In 2025, fire departments serving Jamestown responded to 67 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $350K 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 64% of all calls.
Nov peaks. Sep dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
268 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2025. $1.1M cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 59 | — | |
| 2022 | 45 | -23.7% | |
| 2023 | 45 | +0.0% | |
| 2024 | 52 | +15.6% | |
| 2025 | 67 | +28.8% |
For the 20 building fires Jamestown departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 57 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 | 25 | 43.9% | |
| 2 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 11 | 19.3% | |
| 3 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 4 | 7.0% | |
| 4 | Bedroom - < 5 persons; included are jail or prison | 3 | 5.3% | |
| 5 | Other | 2 | 3.5% | |
| 6 | Storage room, area, tank, or bin | 1 | 1.8% | |
| 7 | Ceiling & floor assembly, crawl space b/t stories | 1 | 1.8% | |
| 8 | Attic: vacant, crawl space above top story, cupola | 1 | 1.8% | |
| 9 | Wall assembly | 1 | 1.8% | |
| 10 | Wall surface: exterior | 1 | 1.8% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 7 | 12.3% |
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 Jamestown mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 34 | 59.6% | |
| 2 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 4 | 7.0% | |
| 3 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 3 | 5.3% | |
| 4 | Hot ember or ash | 3 | 5.3% | |
| 5 | Heat source: other | 2 | 3.5% | |
| 6 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 2 | 3.5% | |
| 7 | Arcing | 2 | 3.5% | |
| 8 | Heat from other open flame or smoking materials | 2 | 3.5% | |
| 9 | Flying brand, ember, spark | 2 | 3.5% | |
| 10 | Heat, spark from friction | 1 | 1.8% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 2 | 3.5% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Jamestown departments in 2025. These 3 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $350,000 | Building fires | Major | Investigated |
| 2 | $12,000 | Road freight or transport vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $5,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Jamestown sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 2 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 55 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2001 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 40 | 37.8 mi | |
| 2004 | Arson/incendiarism | 15 | 30.4 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 Indiana cities with population within ±25% of Jamestown. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
1 departments report to NFIRS for incidents in Jamestown.
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.