In 2025, fire departments serving Lagrange responded to 51 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $200K 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 71% of all calls.
Jan peaks. Sep dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
284 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2021. $1.5M cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 68 | — | |
| 2022 | 52 | -23.5% | |
| 2023 | 57 | +9.6% | |
| 2024 | 56 | -1.8% | |
| 2025 | 51 | -8.9% |
For the 11 building fires Lagrange departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 52 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 | 15 | 28.8% | |
| 2 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 6 | 11.5% | |
| 3 | Cooking area, kitchen | 4 | 7.7% | |
| 4 | Storage room, area, tank, or bin | 4 | 7.7% | |
| 5 | Processing/manufacturing area, workroom | 3 | 5.8% | |
| 6 | Common room, den, family room, living room, lounge | 1 | 1.9% | |
| 7 | Bedroom - 5+ persons; including barrack/dormitory | 1 | 1.9% | |
| 8 | Laundry area, wash house (laundry) | 1 | 1.9% | |
| 9 | Personal service area, barber/beauty salon area | 1 | 1.9% | |
| 10 | Storage: supplies or tools; dead storage | 1 | 1.9% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 15 | 28.8% |
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 Lagrange mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 26 | 50.0% | |
| 2 | Arcing | 6 | 11.5% | |
| 3 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 5 | 9.6% | |
| 4 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 4 | 7.7% | |
| 5 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 2 | 3.8% | |
| 6 | Hot ember or ash | 2 | 3.8% | |
| 7 | Chemical reaction | 2 | 3.8% | |
| 8 | Heat from other open flame or smoking materials | 1 | 1.9% | |
| 9 | Cigarette lighter | 1 | 1.9% | |
| 10 | Chemical, natural heat source, other | 1 | 1.9% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 2 | 3.8% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Lagrange departments in 2025. These 5 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $200,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 2 | $175,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $60,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 4 | $7,500 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 5 | $2,000 | Outside rubbish, trash or waste fire | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Lagrange sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 12 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 431 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 | 23.2 mi | |
| 2006 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 50 | 48.5 mi | |
| 2018 | Fireworks | 40 | 44.1 mi | |
| 2002 | Recreation and ceremony | 35 | 28.5 mi | |
| 2019 | Equipment and vehicle use | 25 | 31.1 mi | |
| 2019 | Equipment and vehicle use | 25 | 40.6 mi | |
| 2019 | Natural | 22 | 31.5 mi | |
| 2018 | Equipment and vehicle use | 21 | 48.0 mi | |
| 2004 | Debris and open burning | 20 | 27.6 mi | |
| 2018 | Equipment and vehicle use | 15 | 17.4 mi | |
| 2017 | Arson/incendiarism | 12 | 20.3 mi | |
| 2019 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 12 | 32.8 mi |
Top 2 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 Lagrange. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
2 departments report to NFIRS for incidents in Lagrange.
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.