In 2025, fire departments serving Medaryville responded to 27 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $150K 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 81% of all calls.
Mar peaks. Jul dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
117 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2024. $1.5M cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 23 | — | |
| 2022 | 15 | -34.8% | |
| 2023 | 24 | +60.0% | |
| 2024 | 28 | +16.7% | |
| 2025 | 27 | -3.6% |
For the 13 building fires Medaryville departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 36 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 | 10 | 27.8% | |
| 2 | Common room, den, family room, living room, lounge | 4 | 11.1% | |
| 3 | Attic: vacant, crawl space above top story, cupola | 4 | 11.1% | |
| 4 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 4 | 11.1% | |
| 5 | Cooking area, kitchen | 2 | 5.6% | |
| 6 | Storage area, other | 2 | 5.6% | |
| 7 | Wall surface: exterior | 2 | 5.6% | |
| 8 | Other | 1 | 2.8% | |
| 9 | Function area, other | 1 | 2.8% | |
| 10 | Bedroom - < 5 persons; included are jail or prison | 1 | 2.8% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 5 | 13.9% |
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 Medaryville mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 21 | 58.3% | |
| 2 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 6 | 16.7% | |
| 3 | Arcing | 4 | 11.1% | |
| 4 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 2 | 5.6% | |
| 5 | Heat source: other | 1 | 2.8% | |
| 6 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 1 | 2.8% | |
| 7 | Heat spread from another fire, other | 1 | 2.8% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Medaryville departments in 2025. These 7 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $150,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 2 | $89,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $60,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 4 | $50,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 5 | $40,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 6 | $20,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 7 | $10,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Medaryville sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 4,590 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2002 | Railroad operations and maintenance | 396 | 41.6 mi | |
| 1993 | Railroad operations and maintenance | 341 | 41.7 mi | |
| 2012 | Railroad operations and maintenance | 291 | 41.9 mi | |
| 2019 | Railroad operations and maintenance | 274 | 41.7 mi | |
| 1995 | Debris and open burning | 253 | 40.2 mi | |
| 1996 | Railroad operations and maintenance | 244 | 41.7 mi | |
| 2019 | Railroad operations and maintenance | 216 | 41.5 mi | |
| 2003 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 204 | 42.0 mi | |
| 1994 | Railroad operations and maintenance | 191 | 41.7 mi | |
| 1994 | Railroad operations and maintenance | 190 | 42.4 mi | |
| 2003 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 187 | 42.0 mi | |
| 2016 | Railroad operations and maintenance | 182 | 40.6 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 | 47957 | 117 |
Six Indiana cities with population within ±25% of Medaryville. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
1 departments report to NFIRS for incidents in Medaryville.
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.