In 2025, fire departments serving Ossian responded to 41 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $60K building blaze. Here's the full picture.
Chimney or flue fire, confined to chimney or flue lead by count. Building fires lead by dollars. Together the top five categories make up about 56% of all calls.
Apr peaks. Sep dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
170 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2025. $210K cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 30 | — | |
| 2022 | 37 | +23.3% | |
| 2023 | 29 | -21.6% | |
| 2024 | 33 | +13.8% | |
| 2025 | 41 | +24.2% |
For the 4 building fires Ossian departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 40 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 | Outside area, other | 7 | 17.5% | |
| 2 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 7 | 17.5% | |
| 3 | Other | 5 | 12.5% | |
| 4 | Undetermined | 5 | 12.5% | |
| 5 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 3 | 7.5% | |
| 6 | Equipment or service area, other | 2 | 5.0% | |
| 7 | Wall surface: exterior | 2 | 5.0% | |
| 8 | Wildland, woods | 2 | 5.0% | |
| 9 | Cooking area, kitchen | 1 | 2.5% | |
| 10 | Chute/container - trash, rubbish, waste | 1 | 2.5% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 5 | 12.5% |
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 Ossian mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 12 | 30.0% | |
| 2 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 5 | 12.5% | |
| 3 | Hot ember or ash | 4 | 10.0% | |
| 4 | Flame/torch used for lighting | 4 | 10.0% | |
| 5 | Arcing | 3 | 7.5% | |
| 6 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 2 | 5.0% | |
| 7 | Heat from other open flame or smoking materials | 2 | 5.0% | |
| 8 | Cigarette lighter | 2 | 5.0% | |
| 9 | Flying brand, ember, spark | 2 | 5.0% | |
| 10 | Heat source: other | 1 | 2.5% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 3 | 7.5% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Ossian departments in 2025. These 4 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $60,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 2 | $20,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $20,000 | Fire, other | Significant | Investigated |
| 4 | $2,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Ossian sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 5 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 135 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 | 50 | 13.2 mi | |
| 2002 | Recreation and ceremony | 35 | 35.0 mi | |
| 2005 | Recreation and ceremony | 20 | 26.4 mi | |
| 2004 | Debris and open burning | 20 | 36.4 mi | |
| 2003 | Debris and open burning | 10 | 9.0 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 Ossian. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
1 departments report to NFIRS for incidents in Ossian.
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.