In 2025, fire departments serving Newburgh responded to 170 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $750K 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 54% of all calls.
Jan peaks. Sep dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
966 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2024. $6.0M cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 126 | — | |
| 2022 | 206 | +63.5% | |
| 2023 | 189 | -8.3% | |
| 2024 | 275 | +45.5% | |
| 2025 | 170 | -38.2% |
For the 14 building fires Newburgh departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 176 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 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 23 | 13.1% | |
| 2 | Undetermined | 22 | 12.5% | |
| 3 | Vehicle storage area; garage, carport | 12 | 6.8% | |
| 4 | Cooking area, kitchen | 11 | 6.2% | |
| 5 | Outside area, other | 10 | 5.7% | |
| 6 | Other | 9 | 5.1% | |
| 7 | Processing/manufacturing area, workroom | 8 | 4.5% | |
| 8 | Equipment or service area, other | 8 | 4.5% | |
| 9 | Vehicle area, other | 7 | 4.0% | |
| 10 | Common room, den, family room, living room, lounge | 4 | 2.3% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 62 | 35.2% |
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 Newburgh mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 35 | 19.9% | |
| 2 | Heat source: other | 21 | 11.9% | |
| 3 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 19 | 10.8% | |
| 4 | Arcing | 19 | 10.8% | |
| 5 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 17 | 9.7% | |
| 6 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 13 | 7.4% | |
| 7 | Molten, hot material | 11 | 6.2% | |
| 8 | Heat, spark from friction | 8 | 4.5% | |
| 9 | Hot ember or ash | 8 | 4.5% | |
| 10 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 7 | 4.0% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 18 | 10.2% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Newburgh departments in 2025. These 8 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $750,000 | Building fires | Major | Investigated |
| 2 | $300,000 | Building fires | Major | Investigated |
| 3 | $150,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 4 | $90,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 5 | $20,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 6 | $2,500 | Grass fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 7 | $2,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 8 | $1,000 | Cooking fire, confined to container | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Newburgh sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 6,281 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2013 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 716 | 27.3 mi | |
| 2004 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 500 | 49.6 mi | |
| 2001 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 500 | 47.7 mi | |
| 2012 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 418 | 28.0 mi | |
| 2006 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 365 | 32.7 mi | |
| 2006 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 356 | 22.2 mi | |
| 2005 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 300 | 47.7 mi | |
| 2008 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 300 | 43.8 mi | |
| 1999 | Arson/incendiarism | 300 | 39.6 mi | |
| 2010 | Debris and open burning | 265 | 48.0 mi | |
| 2001 | Arson/incendiarism | 205 | 49.9 mi | |
| 2001 | Equipment and vehicle use | 200 | 46.1 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 Newburgh. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
3 departments report to NFIRS for incidents in Newburgh.
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.