In 2025, fire departments serving Montpelier responded to 32 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $20K 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 69% of all calls.
Jul peaks. Sep dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
128 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2022. $190K cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 21 | — | |
| 2022 | 34 | +61.9% | |
| 2023 | 25 | -26.5% | |
| 2024 | 16 | -36.0% | |
| 2025 | 32 | +100.0% |
For the 9 building fires Montpelier departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 35 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 | Common room, den, family room, living room, lounge | 4 | 11.4% | |
| 2 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 4 | 11.4% | |
| 3 | Outside area, other | 4 | 11.4% | |
| 4 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 4 | 11.4% | |
| 5 | Storage area, other | 3 | 8.6% | |
| 6 | Vehicle area, other | 3 | 8.6% | |
| 7 | Cooking area, kitchen | 2 | 5.7% | |
| 8 | Structural area, other | 2 | 5.7% | |
| 9 | Other | 1 | 2.9% | |
| 10 | Corridor, mall | 1 | 2.9% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 7 | 20.0% |
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 Montpelier mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 6 | 17.1% | |
| 2 | Heat source: other | 5 | 14.3% | |
| 3 | Arcing | 5 | 14.3% | |
| 4 | Hot ember or ash | 3 | 8.6% | |
| 5 | Heat from other open flame or smoking materials | 3 | 8.6% | |
| 6 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 2 | 5.7% | |
| 7 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 2 | 5.7% | |
| 8 | Match | 2 | 5.7% | |
| 9 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 1 | 2.9% | |
| 10 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 1 | 2.9% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 5 | 14.3% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Montpelier departments in 2025. These 1 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $20,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Montpelier sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 3 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 80 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 | 35.8 mi | |
| 2005 | Recreation and ceremony | 20 | 11.5 mi | |
| 2003 | Debris and open burning | 10 | 16.1 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 | 47359 | 128 |
Six Indiana cities with population within ±25% of Montpelier. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
1 departments report to NFIRS for incidents in Montpelier.
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.