In 2025, fire departments serving Kokomo responded to 503 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $800K building blaze. Here's the full picture.
Gas leak (natural gas or LPG) lead by count. Building fires lead by dollars. Together the top five categories make up about 58% of all calls.
Jul peaks. Sep dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
2,723 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2024. $11.2M cumulative property loss. 3 civilian deaths.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 408 | — | |
| 2022 | 577 | +41.4% | |
| 2023 | 612 | +6.1% | |
| 2024 | 623 | +1.8% | |
| 2025 | 503 | -19.3% |
For the 57 building fires Kokomo departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 979 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 | 269 | 27.5% | |
| 2 | Outside area, other | 124 | 12.7% | |
| 3 | Other | 96 | 9.8% | |
| 4 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 79 | 8.1% | |
| 5 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 60 | 6.1% | |
| 6 | Cooking area, kitchen | 52 | 5.3% | |
| 7 | Wall surface: exterior | 30 | 3.1% | |
| 8 | Vehicle storage area; garage, carport | 26 | 2.7% | |
| 9 | Bedroom - < 5 persons; included are jail or prison | 21 | 2.1% | |
| 10 | Function area, other | 17 | 1.7% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 205 | 20.9% |
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 Kokomo mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 581 | 59.3% | |
| 2 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 60 | 6.1% | |
| 3 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 45 | 4.6% | |
| 4 | Heat source: other | 40 | 4.1% | |
| 5 | Hot ember or ash | 40 | 4.1% | |
| 6 | Arcing | 35 | 3.6% | |
| 7 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 31 | 3.2% | |
| 8 | Cigarette lighter | 31 | 3.2% | |
| 9 | Match | 17 | 1.7% | |
| 10 | Flame/torch used for lighting | 16 | 1.6% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 83 | 8.5% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Kokomo departments in 2025. These 8 fires alone account for 51% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $800,000 | Building fires | Major | Investigated |
| 2 | $115,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $100,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 4 | $100,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 5 | $100,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 6 | $91,100 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 7 | $80,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 8 | $75,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Kokomo sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 2 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 35 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2005 | Recreation and ceremony | 20 | 34.1 mi | |
| 2004 | Arson/incendiarism | 15 | 35.7 mi |
Top 8 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 Kokomo. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
4 departments report to NFIRS for incidents in Kokomo.
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.