In 2025, fire departments serving New Paris responded to 26 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $8K building blaze. Here's the full picture.
Outside storage fire lead by count. Building fires lead by dollars. Together the top five categories make up about 61% of all calls.
Feb peaks. Mar dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
126 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2023. $172K cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021* | 4 | — | |
| 2022 | 24 | — | |
| 2023 | 42 | +75.0% | |
| 2024 | 30 | -28.6% | |
| 2025 | 26 | -13.3% |
* Well below New Paris's usual volume. That almost always means one or more departments didn't submit a full year to NFIRS, not that fires dropped, so no year-over-year change is shown for it.
For the 3 building fires New Paris departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 73 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 | 15 | 20.5% | |
| 2 | Other | 13 | 17.8% | |
| 3 | Outside area, other | 11 | 15.1% | |
| 4 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 9 | 12.3% | |
| 5 | Chute/container - trash, rubbish, waste | 5 | 6.8% | |
| 6 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 3 | 4.1% | |
| 7 | Processing/manufacturing area, workroom | 2 | 2.7% | |
| 8 | Storage area, other | 2 | 2.7% | |
| 9 | Storage room, area, tank, or bin | 2 | 2.7% | |
| 10 | Vehicle area, other | 2 | 2.7% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 9 | 12.3% |
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 New Paris mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 21 | 28.8% | |
| 2 | Hot ember or ash | 7 | 9.6% | |
| 3 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 6 | 8.2% | |
| 4 | Heat source: other | 5 | 6.8% | |
| 5 | Flying brand, ember, spark | 5 | 6.8% | |
| 6 | Multiple heat sources including multiple ignitions | 5 | 6.8% | |
| 7 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 4 | 5.5% | |
| 8 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 3 | 4.1% | |
| 9 | Arcing | 3 | 4.1% | |
| 10 | Cigarette lighter | 3 | 4.1% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 11 | 15.1% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by New Paris departments in 2025. These 2 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $8,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 2 | $2,875 | Outside storage fire | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. New Paris sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 6 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 251 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2014 | Debris and open burning | 154 | 46.5 mi | |
| 2002 | Recreation and ceremony | 35 | 43.2 mi | |
| 2004 | Debris and open burning | 20 | 42.9 mi | |
| 2002 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 15 | 29.6 mi | |
| 2018 | Equipment and vehicle use | 15 | 23.9 mi | |
| 2017 | Arson/incendiarism | 12 | 20.0 mi |
Top 3 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 Paris. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
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.