In 2025, fire departments serving New Whiteland responded to 17 fire and hazmat incidents . Here's the full picture.
Building fires lead by count. Building fires lead by dollars. Together the top five categories make up about 83% of all calls.
Jan peaks. Feb dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
126 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2024. $66K cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 25 | — | |
| 2022 | 29 | +16.0% | |
| 2023 | 23 | -20.7% | |
| 2024 | 32 | +39.1% | |
| 2025 | 17 | -46.9% |
For the 8 building fires New Whiteland departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 18 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 | 7 | 38.9% | |
| 2 | Outside area, other | 4 | 22.2% | |
| 3 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 2 | 11.1% | |
| 4 | Cooking area, kitchen | 1 | 5.6% | |
| 5 | Laundry area, wash house (laundry) | 1 | 5.6% | |
| 6 | Chute/container - trash, rubbish, waste | 1 | 5.6% | |
| 7 | Equipment or service area, other | 1 | 5.6% | |
| 8 | Operator/passenger area of transportation equip. | 1 | 5.6% |
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 Whiteland mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 12 | 66.7% | |
| 2 | Heat source: other | 1 | 5.6% | |
| 3 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 1 | 5.6% | |
| 4 | Arcing | 1 | 5.6% | |
| 5 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 1 | 5.6% | |
| 6 | Heat, spark from friction | 1 | 5.6% | |
| 7 | Hot ember or ash | 1 | 5.6% |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. New Whiteland sits below the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 2,489 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 | 15.9 mi | |
| 2007 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 165 | 20.3 mi | |
| 2007 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 156 | 20.0 mi | |
| 2005 | Debris and open burning | 50 | 49.2 mi | |
| 2000 | Arson/incendiarism | 47 | 43.5 mi | |
| 1995 | Arson/incendiarism | 47 | 36.9 mi | |
| 1999 | Arson/incendiarism | 40 | 46.4 mi | |
| 1999 | Recreation and ceremony | 37 | 34.3 mi | |
| 2012 | Equipment and vehicle use | 35 | 34.6 mi | |
| 1997 | Arson/incendiarism | 34 | 42.1 mi | |
| 2009 | Debris and open burning | 30 | 42.3 mi | |
| 2005 | Power generation/transmission/distribution | 30 | 42.2 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 | 46184 | 126 |
Six Indiana cities with population within ±25% of New Whiteland. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
1 departments report to NFIRS for incidents in New Whiteland.
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.