In 2025, fire departments serving Monticello responded to 96 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $100K building blaze. Here's the full picture.
Gas leak (natural gas or LPG) lead by count. Building fires lead by dollars. Together the top five categories make up about 66% of all calls.
Mar peaks. Sep dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
440 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2025. $1.3M cumulative property loss. 2 civilian deaths.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 66 | — | |
| 2022 | 94 | +42.4% | |
| 2023 | 91 | -3.2% | |
| 2024 | 93 | +2.2% | |
| 2025 | 96 | +3.2% |
For the 9 building fires Monticello departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 147 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 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 32 | 21.8% | |
| 2 | Outside area, other | 18 | 12.2% | |
| 3 | Undetermined | 18 | 12.2% | |
| 4 | Other | 10 | 6.8% | |
| 5 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 8 | 5.4% | |
| 6 | Vehicle storage area; garage, carport | 7 | 4.8% | |
| 7 | Wildland, woods | 6 | 4.1% | |
| 8 | Common room, den, family room, living room, lounge | 5 | 3.4% | |
| 9 | Operator/passenger area of transportation equip. | 5 | 3.4% | |
| 10 | Cooking area, kitchen | 4 | 2.7% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 34 | 23.1% |
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 Monticello mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 65 | 44.2% | |
| 2 | Arcing | 22 | 15.0% | |
| 3 | Hot ember or ash | 9 | 6.1% | |
| 4 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 6 | 4.1% | |
| 5 | Cigarette lighter | 6 | 4.1% | |
| 6 | Flying brand, ember, spark | 6 | 4.1% | |
| 7 | Heat spread from another fire, other | 5 | 3.4% | |
| 8 | Flame/torch used for lighting | 4 | 2.7% | |
| 9 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 3 | 2.0% | |
| 10 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 3 | 2.0% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 18 | 12.2% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Monticello departments in 2025. These 6 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $100,000 | Camper or recreational vehicle (RV) fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 2 | $20,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $15,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 4 | $10,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 5 | $1,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 6 | $300 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Monticello sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 3 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 40 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2004 | Arson/incendiarism | 15 | 27.4 mi | |
| 2002 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 15 | 46.8 mi | |
| 2019 | Arson/incendiarism | 10 | 48.5 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 | 47960 | 440 |
Six Indiana cities with population within ±25% of Monticello. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
1 departments report to NFIRS for incidents in Monticello.
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.