In 2025, fire departments serving Orleans responded to 24 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $10K building blaze. Here's the full picture.
Building fires lead by count. Building fires lead by dollars. Together the top five categories make up about 67% of all calls.
Mar peaks. Jul dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
136 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2022. $234K cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 27 | — | |
| 2022 | 32 | +18.5% | |
| 2023 | 31 | -3.1% | |
| 2024 | 22 | -29.0% | |
| 2025 | 24 | +9.1% |
For the 5 building fires Orleans departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 51 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 | 18 | 35.3% | |
| 2 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 10 | 19.6% | |
| 3 | Function area, other | 3 | 5.9% | |
| 4 | Cargo/trunk area - all vehicles | 3 | 5.9% | |
| 5 | Outside area, other | 3 | 5.9% | |
| 6 | Cooking area, kitchen | 2 | 3.9% | |
| 7 | Operator/passenger area of transportation equip. | 2 | 3.9% | |
| 8 | Other | 1 | 2.0% | |
| 9 | Storage area, other | 1 | 2.0% | |
| 10 | Closet | 1 | 2.0% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 7 | 13.7% |
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 Orleans mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 25 | 49.0% | |
| 2 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 6 | 11.8% | |
| 3 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 5 | 9.8% | |
| 4 | Arcing | 5 | 9.8% | |
| 5 | Heat source: other | 3 | 5.9% | |
| 6 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 3 | 5.9% | |
| 7 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 2 | 3.9% | |
| 8 | Hot ember or ash | 1 | 2.0% | |
| 9 | Lightning | 1 | 2.0% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Orleans departments in 2025. These 2 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $10,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 2 | $3,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Orleans sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 1,931 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2006 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 365 | 45.3 mi | |
| 2007 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 165 | 47.0 mi | |
| 1999 | Arson/incendiarism | 157 | 26.9 mi | |
| 2007 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 156 | 46.9 mi | |
| 2018 | Debris and open burning | 77 | 10.7 mi | |
| 2017 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 76 | 28.8 mi | |
| 1995 | Recreation and ceremony | 75 | 34.9 mi | |
| 2001 | Debris and open burning | 75 | 6.5 mi | |
| 2004 | Debris and open burning | 75 | 31.0 mi | |
| 2007 | Recreation and ceremony | 70 | 49.7 mi | |
| 2002 | Arson/incendiarism | 60 | 45.4 mi | |
| 2010 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 60 | 43.8 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 | 47452 | 136 |
Six Indiana cities with population within ±25% of Orleans. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
2 departments report to NFIRS for incidents in Orleans.
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.