In 2025, fire departments serving Rockport responded to 47 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $65K building blaze. 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 60% of all calls.
Apr peaks. Feb dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
243 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2022. $272K cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 31 | — | |
| 2022 | 59 | +90.3% | |
| 2023 | 54 | -8.5% | |
| 2024 | 52 | -3.7% | |
| 2025 | 47 | -9.6% |
For the 5 building fires Rockport departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 37 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 | 16 | 43.2% | |
| 2 | Bedroom - < 5 persons; included are jail or prison | 4 | 10.8% | |
| 3 | Cooking area, kitchen | 4 | 10.8% | |
| 4 | Cargo/trunk area - all vehicles | 2 | 5.4% | |
| 5 | Exterior stairway, ramp, or fire escape | 1 | 2.7% | |
| 6 | Storage area, other | 1 | 2.7% | |
| 7 | Vehicle storage area; garage, carport | 1 | 2.7% | |
| 8 | Duct: hvac, cable, exhaust, heating, or AC | 1 | 2.7% | |
| 9 | Equipment or service area, other | 1 | 2.7% | |
| 10 | Attic: vacant, crawl space above top story, cupola | 1 | 2.7% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 5 | 13.5% |
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 Rockport mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 9 | 24.3% | |
| 2 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 8 | 21.6% | |
| 3 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 5 | 13.5% | |
| 4 | Heat source: other | 4 | 10.8% | |
| 5 | Heat, spark from friction | 3 | 8.1% | |
| 6 | Hot ember or ash | 3 | 8.1% | |
| 7 | Arcing | 1 | 2.7% | |
| 8 | Candle | 1 | 2.7% | |
| 9 | Heat spread from another fire, other | 1 | 2.7% | |
| 10 | Multiple heat sources including multiple ignitions | 1 | 2.7% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 1 | 2.7% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Rockport departments in 2025. These 5 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $65,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 2 | $60,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $25,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 4 | $10,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 5 | $2,000 | Fuel burner/boiler malfunction, fire confined | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Rockport sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 10,877 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 | 41.2 mi | |
| 2007 | Debris and open burning | 1,200 | 41.0 mi | |
| 2004 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 1,050 | 40.2 mi | |
| 2013 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 716 | 33.8 mi | |
| 2007 | Debris and open burning | 570 | 42.3 mi | |
| 2004 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 500 | 42.7 mi | |
| 2001 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 500 | 42.2 mi | |
| 2007 | Debris and open burning | 450 | 42.5 mi | |
| 2012 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 418 | 35.8 mi | |
| 2003 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 400 | 39.8 mi | |
| 2006 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 365 | 36.4 mi | |
| 2006 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 356 | 25.7 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 | 47635 | 243 |
Six Indiana cities with population within ±25% of Rockport. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
1 departments report to NFIRS for incidents in Rockport.
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.