In 2025, fire departments serving Monon responded to 22 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $50K building blaze. Here's the full picture.
Grass fire lead by count. Building fires lead by dollars. Together the top five categories make up about 82% of all calls.
Mar peaks. May dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
149 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2023. $161K cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 19 | — | |
| 2022 | 26 | +36.8% | |
| 2023 | 45 | +73.1% | |
| 2024 | 37 | -17.8% | |
| 2025 | 22 | -40.5% |
For the 5 building fires Monon departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 30 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 | 13 | 43.3% | |
| 2 | Storage room, area, tank, or bin | 3 | 10.0% | |
| 3 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 3 | 10.0% | |
| 4 | Attic: vacant, crawl space above top story, cupola | 2 | 6.7% | |
| 5 | Wall surface: exterior | 2 | 6.7% | |
| 6 | Outside area, other | 2 | 6.7% | |
| 7 | Other | 1 | 3.3% | |
| 8 | Common room, den, family room, living room, lounge | 1 | 3.3% | |
| 9 | Cooking area, kitchen | 1 | 3.3% | |
| 10 | Heating room or area, water heater area | 1 | 3.3% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 1 | 3.3% |
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 Monon mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 18 | 60.0% | |
| 2 | Hot ember or ash | 4 | 13.3% | |
| 3 | Arcing | 2 | 6.7% | |
| 4 | Heat source: other | 1 | 3.3% | |
| 5 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 1 | 3.3% | |
| 6 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 1 | 3.3% | |
| 7 | Heat spread from another fire, other | 1 | 3.3% | |
| 8 | Heat from direct flame, convection currents | 1 | 3.3% | |
| 9 | Flying brand, ember, spark | 1 | 3.3% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Monon departments in 2025. These 1 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $50,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Monon sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 6 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 97 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2003 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 25 | 40.9 mi | |
| 1995 | Railroad operations and maintenance | 22 | 45.6 mi | |
| 2004 | Arson/incendiarism | 15 | 35.8 mi | |
| 2002 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 15 | 43.1 mi | |
| 1995 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 10 | 46.4 mi | |
| 2019 | Arson/incendiarism | 10 | 39.7 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 Monon. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
1 departments report to NFIRS for incidents in Monon.
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.