In 2025, fire departments serving Markle responded to 24 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $200K 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 75% of all calls.
Mar peaks. Jul dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
101 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2022. $362K cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 19 | — | |
| 2022 | 27 | +42.1% | |
| 2023 | 18 | -33.3% | |
| 2024 | 13 | -27.8% | |
| 2025 | 24 | +84.6% |
For the 10 building fires Markle departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 28 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 | 53.6% | |
| 2 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 5 | 17.9% | |
| 3 | Wall surface: exterior | 2 | 7.1% | |
| 4 | Vehicle area, other | 2 | 7.1% | |
| 5 | Processing/manufacturing area, workroom | 1 | 3.6% | |
| 6 | Storage room, area, tank, or bin | 1 | 3.6% | |
| 7 | Closet | 1 | 3.6% | |
| 8 | Structural area, other | 1 | 3.6% |
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 Markle mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 23 | 82.1% | |
| 2 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 3 | 10.7% | |
| 3 | Heat source: other | 1 | 3.6% | |
| 4 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 1 | 3.6% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Markle departments in 2025. These 2 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $200,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 2 | $2,500 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Markle sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 5 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 135 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2006 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 50 | 22.2 mi | |
| 2002 | Recreation and ceremony | 35 | 41.2 mi | |
| 2005 | Recreation and ceremony | 20 | 18.5 mi | |
| 2004 | Debris and open burning | 20 | 42.4 mi | |
| 2003 | Debris and open burning | 10 | 12.3 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 | 46770 | 101 |
Six Indiana cities with population within ±25% of Markle. 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.