In 2025, fire departments serving Lapel responded to 42 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $115K 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 74% of all calls.
Apr peaks. Sep dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
163 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2025. $386K cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 28 | — | |
| 2022 | 27 | -3.6% | |
| 2023 | 28 | +3.7% | |
| 2024 | 38 | +35.7% | |
| 2025 | 42 | +10.5% |
For the 7 building fires Lapel departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 31 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 | 48.4% | |
| 2 | Outside area, other | 4 | 12.9% | |
| 3 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 4 | 12.9% | |
| 4 | Vehicle storage area; garage, carport | 2 | 6.5% | |
| 5 | Bedroom - < 5 persons; included are jail or prison | 1 | 3.2% | |
| 6 | Processing/manufacturing area, workroom | 1 | 3.2% | |
| 7 | Machinery room or area; elevator machinery room | 1 | 3.2% | |
| 8 | Heating room or area, water heater area | 1 | 3.2% | |
| 9 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 1 | 3.2% | |
| 10 | Courtyard, patio, porch, terrace | 1 | 3.2% |
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 Lapel mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 17 | 54.8% | |
| 2 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 5 | 16.1% | |
| 3 | Hot ember or ash | 4 | 12.9% | |
| 4 | Molten, hot material | 3 | 9.7% | |
| 5 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 1 | 3.2% | |
| 6 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 1 | 3.2% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Lapel departments in 2025. These 4 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $115,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 2 | $75,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $45,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 4 | $40,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Lapel sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 2 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 1,569 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2007 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 1,549 | 49.9 mi | |
| 2005 | Recreation and ceremony | 20 | 42.4 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 Lapel. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
1 departments report to NFIRS for incidents in Lapel.
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.