In 2025, fire departments serving Paragon responded to 10 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $100K 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 90% of all calls.
Apr peaks. Jan dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
57 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2023. $2.0M cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021* | 4 | — | |
| 2022 | 7 | — | |
| 2023 | 26 | +271.4% | |
| 2024 | 10 | -61.5% | |
| 2025 | 10 | +0.0% |
* Well below Paragon's usual volume. That almost always means one or more departments didn't submit a full year to NFIRS, not that fires dropped, so no year-over-year change is shown for it.
For the 3 building fires Paragon departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 17 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 | Other | 3 | 17.6% | |
| 2 | Function area, other | 2 | 11.8% | |
| 3 | Vehicle storage area; garage, carport | 2 | 11.8% | |
| 4 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 2 | 11.8% | |
| 5 | Exterior, exposed surface | 2 | 11.8% | |
| 6 | Outside area, other | 2 | 11.8% | |
| 7 | Undetermined | 2 | 11.8% | |
| 8 | Storage area, other | 1 | 5.9% | |
| 9 | Structural area, other | 1 | 5.9% |
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 Paragon mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 7 | 41.2% | |
| 2 | Heat source: other | 3 | 17.6% | |
| 3 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 2 | 11.8% | |
| 4 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 1 | 5.9% | |
| 5 | Arcing | 1 | 5.9% | |
| 6 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 1 | 5.9% | |
| 7 | Match | 1 | 5.9% | |
| 8 | Flame/torch used for lighting | 1 | 5.9% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Paragon departments in 2025. These 1 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $100,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Paragon sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 2,737 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 | 26.9 mi | |
| 2007 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 165 | 28.3 mi | |
| 2007 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 156 | 27.6 mi | |
| 2003 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 150 | 47.0 mi | |
| 2003 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 100 | 46.5 mi | |
| 2005 | Debris and open burning | 50 | 48.0 mi | |
| 2000 | Arson/incendiarism | 47 | 36.2 mi | |
| 1995 | Arson/incendiarism | 47 | 27.7 mi | |
| 2014 | Debris and open burning | 40 | 48.9 mi | |
| 2001 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 40 | 26.8 mi | |
| 1999 | Recreation and ceremony | 37 | 28.6 mi | |
| 2012 | Equipment and vehicle use | 35 | 32.0 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 Paragon. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
1 departments report to NFIRS for incidents in Paragon.
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.