In 2025, fire departments serving New Palestine responded to 53 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $5K 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 51% of all calls.
Nov peaks. Jan dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
289 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2023. $1.1M cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 49 | — | |
| 2022 | 63 | +28.6% | |
| 2023 | 71 | +12.7% | |
| 2024 | 53 | -25.4% | |
| 2025 | 53 | +0.0% |
For the 6 building fires New Palestine departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 81 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 | 28 | 34.6% | |
| 2 | Undetermined | 18 | 22.2% | |
| 3 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 7 | 8.6% | |
| 4 | Cooking area, kitchen | 5 | 6.2% | |
| 5 | Outside area, other | 5 | 6.2% | |
| 6 | Vehicle storage area; garage, carport | 3 | 3.7% | |
| 7 | Courtyard, patio, porch, terrace | 3 | 3.7% | |
| 8 | Common room, den, family room, living room, lounge | 2 | 2.5% | |
| 9 | Highway, parking lot, street: on or near | 2 | 2.5% | |
| 10 | Other | 1 | 1.2% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 7 | 8.6% |
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 New Palestine mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 40 | 49.4% | |
| 2 | Arcing | 7 | 8.6% | |
| 3 | Hot ember or ash | 5 | 6.2% | |
| 4 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 4 | 4.9% | |
| 5 | Flying brand, ember, spark | 4 | 4.9% | |
| 6 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 3 | 3.7% | |
| 7 | Cigarette lighter | 3 | 3.7% | |
| 8 | Flame/torch used for lighting | 3 | 3.7% | |
| 9 | Heat from direct flame, convection currents | 3 | 3.7% | |
| 10 | Heat source: other | 2 | 2.5% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 7 | 8.6% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by New Palestine departments in 2025. These 2 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $5,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 2 | $2,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. New Palestine sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 12 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 2,042 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2007 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 1,549 | 28.6 mi | |
| 2007 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 165 | 32.7 mi | |
| 2007 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 156 | 32.6 mi | |
| 1999 | Recreation and ceremony | 37 | 48.3 mi | |
| 2012 | Equipment and vehicle use | 35 | 47.8 mi | |
| 2000 | Debris and open burning | 30 | 48.1 mi | |
| 2017 | Debris and open burning | 17 | 47.2 mi | |
| 2016 | Recreation and ceremony | 13 | 48.7 mi | |
| 2003 | Arson/incendiarism | 10 | 49.8 mi | |
| 2010 | Debris and open burning | 10 | 49.7 mi | |
| 2016 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 10 | 48.9 mi | |
| 2005 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 10 | 30.3 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 New Palestine. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
1 departments report to NFIRS for incidents in New Palestine.
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.