In 2025, fire departments serving Lynn responded to 28 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $120K 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 61% of all calls.
Dec peaks. May dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
150 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2024. $386K cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 32 | — | |
| 2022 | 20 | -37.5% | |
| 2023 | 29 | +45.0% | |
| 2024 | 41 | +41.4% | |
| 2025 | 28 | -31.7% |
For the 7 building fires Lynn departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 23 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 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 7 | 30.4% | |
| 2 | Cooking area, kitchen | 3 | 13.0% | |
| 3 | Vehicle area, other | 2 | 8.7% | |
| 4 | Undetermined | 2 | 8.7% | |
| 5 | Other | 1 | 4.3% | |
| 6 | Bathroom, checkroom, lavatory, locker room | 1 | 4.3% | |
| 7 | Vehicle storage area; garage, carport | 1 | 4.3% | |
| 8 | Ceiling & floor assembly, crawl space b/t stories | 1 | 4.3% | |
| 9 | Attic: vacant, crawl space above top story, cupola | 1 | 4.3% | |
| 10 | Wall surface: exterior | 1 | 4.3% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 3 | 13.0% |
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 Lynn mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 7 | 30.4% | |
| 2 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 4 | 17.4% | |
| 3 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 3 | 13.0% | |
| 4 | Arcing | 3 | 13.0% | |
| 5 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 2 | 8.7% | |
| 6 | Molten, hot material | 1 | 4.3% | |
| 7 | Heat from other open flame or smoking materials | 1 | 4.3% | |
| 8 | Flame/torch used for lighting | 1 | 4.3% | |
| 9 | Lightning | 1 | 4.3% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Lynn departments in 2025. These 4 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $120,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 2 | $5,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $2,000 | Mobile property (vehicle) fire, other | Significant | Investigated |
| 4 | $2,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Lynn sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 2 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 30 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 | 47.6 mi | |
| 2003 | Debris and open burning | 10 | 49.4 mi |
Top 1 ZIP codes by NFIRS incident count across 2021–2025. Each ZIP has its own fire profile — dive in for neighborhood-level context.
| # | ZIP | 5-yr incidents | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 47355 | 150 |
Six Indiana cities with population within ±25% of Lynn. 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.