In 2025, fire departments serving Richland responded to 14 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 86% of all calls.
Apr peaks. Feb dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
58 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2023. $272K cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 12 | — | |
| 2022 | 13 | +8.3% | |
| 2023 | 14 | +7.7% | |
| 2024* | 5 | — | |
| 2025 | 14 | — |
* Well below Richland'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 4 building fires Richland departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 12 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 | 3 | 25.0% | |
| 2 | Heating room or area, water heater area | 2 | 16.7% | |
| 3 | Undetermined | 2 | 16.7% | |
| 4 | Laundry area, wash house (laundry) | 1 | 8.3% | |
| 5 | Storage: supplies or tools; dead storage | 1 | 8.3% | |
| 6 | Vehicle storage area; garage, carport | 1 | 8.3% | |
| 7 | Maintenance shop or area, paint shop or area | 1 | 8.3% | |
| 8 | Cargo/trunk area - all vehicles | 1 | 8.3% |
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 Richland mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Arcing | 4 | 33.3% | |
| 2 | Undetermined | 4 | 33.3% | |
| 3 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 1 | 8.3% | |
| 4 | Heat, spark from friction | 1 | 8.3% | |
| 5 | Lightning | 1 | 8.3% | |
| 6 | Heat from direct flame, convection currents | 1 | 8.3% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Richland departments in 2025. These 2 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $10,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 2 | $8,500 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Richland sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 10,702 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1999 | Arson/incendiarism | 1,400 | 46.6 mi | |
| 2007 | Debris and open burning | 1,200 | 46.1 mi | |
| 2004 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 1,050 | 45.5 mi | |
| 2013 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 716 | 28.0 mi | |
| 2007 | Debris and open burning | 570 | 47.0 mi | |
| 2004 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 500 | 46.7 mi | |
| 2001 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 500 | 45.7 mi | |
| 2007 | Debris and open burning | 450 | 47.5 mi | |
| 2012 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 418 | 29.7 mi | |
| 2003 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 400 | 45.2 mi | |
| 2006 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 365 | 31.4 mi | |
| 2006 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 356 | 20.3 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 Richland. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
1 departments report to NFIRS for incidents in Richland.
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.