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2025 Annual Fire Report

Fires in Russiaville, Indiana

In 2025, fire departments serving Russiaville responded to 10 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $100K building blaze. Here's the full picture.

Updated Sep 27, 2026 Grade A- Peak yr 2023 Howard County 1,349 residents 1 reporting departments 53 5-yr
Total incidents
10
-28.6% vs 2024
Building fires
2
Residential 50% Other 50%
Property loss
$165K
$130K structure · $35K contents
Deaths & injuries
0 / 0
0 civilian deaths · 0 civ injuries · 0 firefighter injuries
01 The mix

What kinds of fires happen here?

Building fires lead by count. Building fires lead by dollars. Together the top five categories make up about 80% of all calls.

10
Total Incidents
Building fires 2 20.0%
Brush, or brush and grass mixture fire 2 20.0%
Power line down 2 20.0%
Outside rubbish fire, other 1 10.0%
Outside rubbish, trash or waste fire 1 10.0%
All other categories 2 20.0%
02 Seasonality

When do fires happen?

Nov peaks. Jan dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.

Jan 0
Feb 1
Mar 2
Apr 2
May 0
Jun 0
Jul 0
Aug 1
Sep 0
Oct 0
Nov 4
Dec 0
Fewer
More
2b Five-year trend

Year over year in Russiaville

53 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2023. $203K cumulative property loss.

YearIncidentsYoY 
2021 7 —
2022 8 +14.3%
2023 14 +75.0%
2024 14 +0.0%
2025 10 -28.6%
03 Cause of ignition

What sparks building fires?

For the 2 building fires Russiaville departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.

Unintentional
25%
1
Cause undetermined
0%
0
Intentional / arson
25%
1
Equipment / heat source failure
0%
0
Under investigation
50%
2
Act of nature (lightning)
0%
0
3b Where fires start

Where do fires start in Russiaville?

NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 18 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 originCountShare 
1 Undetermined 5 27.8%
2 Outside area, other 4 22.2%
3 Other 2 11.1%
4 Wildland, woods 2 11.1%
5 Common room, den, family room, living room, lounge 1 5.6%
6 Structural area, other 1 5.6%
7 Attic: vacant, crawl space above top story, cupola 1 5.6%
8 Engine area, running gear, wheel area 1 5.6%
9 Vacant structural area 1 5.6%
3c What ignited it

What actually ignited the fire?

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 Russiaville mix.

#Heat sourceCountShare 
1 Undetermined 8 44.4%
2 Heat source: other 3 16.7%
3 Hot ember or ash 2 11.1%
4 Flying brand, ember, spark 2 11.1%
5 Hot or smoldering object, other 1 5.6%
6 Explosive, fireworks, other 1 5.6%
7 Heat spread from another fire, other 1 5.6%
04 The biggest fires

2 fires · $130K in losses

Largest single-incident property losses reported by Russiaville departments in 2025. These 2 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.

# Property loss Type Severity Status
1 $100,000 Building fires Significant Investigated
2 $30,000 Building fires Significant Investigated
05 How Russiaville compares

Russiaville vs Indiana vs the nation

Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Russiaville sits below the national average for incidents per resident.

7.41
Incidents per 1,000 residents
Russiaville
7.41
IN avg
8.62
US avg
7.48
1.48
Building fires per 1,000 residents
Russiaville
1.48
IN avg
1.27
US avg
0.85
0
Civilian fire deaths per million
Russiaville
0
IN avg
4.4
US avg
5.9
5c Wildfires nearby

Wildfires within 50 mi of Russiaville

Top 2 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 35 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.

50 mi radius
YearCauseAcresDistance 
2005 Recreation and ceremony 20 42.3 mi
2004 Arson/incendiarism 15 27.6 mi
5d Top ZIPs

Where in Russiaville do fires concentrate?

Top 2 ZIP codes by NFIRS incident count across 2021–2025. Each ZIP has its own fire profile — dive in for neighborhood-level context.

#ZIP5-yr incidents 
1 46979 52
2 46902 1
5e Peer cities

Cities similar to Russiaville

Six Indiana cities with population within ±25% of Russiaville. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.

06 First responders

Who responds in Russiaville?

1 departments report to NFIRS for incidents in Russiaville.

Russiaville VFD
140 E MAIN ST
FDID 34006
07 Stay prepared

Before the next Red Flag day.

A 30-minute weekend can cut your home's exposure substantially. These four checklists are a good starting point.

About this data

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.