In 2025, fire departments serving North Webster responded to 19 fire and hazmat incidents . 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 68% of all calls.
Nov peaks. Apr dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
129 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2022. $229K cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 20 | — | |
| 2022 | 38 | +90.0% | |
| 2023 | 22 | -42.1% | |
| 2024 | 30 | +36.4% | |
| 2025 | 19 | -36.7% |
For the 0 building fires North Webster departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 30 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 | 10 | 33.3% | |
| 2 | Vehicle storage area; garage, carport | 4 | 13.3% | |
| 3 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 4 | 13.3% | |
| 4 | Cooking area, kitchen | 3 | 10.0% | |
| 5 | Other | 2 | 6.7% | |
| 6 | Separate operator/control area of transportation | 2 | 6.7% | |
| 7 | Chute/container - trash, rubbish, waste | 1 | 3.3% | |
| 8 | Heating room or area, water heater area | 1 | 3.3% | |
| 9 | Wall assembly | 1 | 3.3% | |
| 10 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 1 | 3.3% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 1 | 3.3% |
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 North Webster mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 16 | 53.3% | |
| 2 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 4 | 13.3% | |
| 3 | Arcing | 3 | 10.0% | |
| 4 | Match | 2 | 6.7% | |
| 5 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 1 | 3.3% | |
| 6 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 1 | 3.3% | |
| 7 | Molten, hot material | 1 | 3.3% | |
| 8 | Hot ember or ash | 1 | 3.3% | |
| 9 | Cigarette lighter | 1 | 3.3% |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. North Webster sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 8 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 311 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 | 48.8 mi | |
| 2006 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 50 | 41.9 mi | |
| 2002 | Recreation and ceremony | 35 | 35.8 mi | |
| 2004 | Debris and open burning | 20 | 36.0 mi | |
| 2002 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 15 | 34.4 mi | |
| 2018 | Equipment and vehicle use | 15 | 34.6 mi | |
| 2017 | Arson/incendiarism | 12 | 32.1 mi | |
| 2003 | Debris and open burning | 10 | 49.5 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 | 46555 | 129 |
Six Indiana cities with population within ±25% of North Webster. 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.