In 2025, fire departments serving Shipshewana responded to 48 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $24K building blaze. Here's the full picture.
Carbon monoxide incident lead by count. Building fires lead by dollars. Together the top five categories make up about 62% of all calls.
Apr peaks. Jan dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
271 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2022. $2.1M cumulative property loss. 1 civilian deaths.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 52 | — | |
| 2022 | 66 | +26.9% | |
| 2023 | 45 | -31.8% | |
| 2024 | 60 | +33.3% | |
| 2025 | 48 | -20.0% |
For the 5 building fires Shipshewana departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 69 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 | Undetermined | 13 | 18.8% | |
| 2 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 11 | 15.9% | |
| 3 | Outside area, other | 7 | 10.1% | |
| 4 | Other | 4 | 5.8% | |
| 5 | Storage area, other | 4 | 5.8% | |
| 6 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 4 | 5.8% | |
| 7 | Structural area, other | 3 | 4.3% | |
| 8 | Vehicle area, other | 3 | 4.3% | |
| 9 | Storage: supplies or tools; dead storage | 2 | 2.9% | |
| 10 | Vehicle storage area; garage, carport | 2 | 2.9% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 16 | 23.2% |
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 Shipshewana mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 27 | 39.1% | |
| 2 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 9 | 13.0% | |
| 3 | Heat source: other | 8 | 11.6% | |
| 4 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 4 | 5.8% | |
| 5 | Hot ember or ash | 4 | 5.8% | |
| 6 | Flame/torch used for lighting | 4 | 5.8% | |
| 7 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 2 | 2.9% | |
| 8 | Chemical reaction | 2 | 2.9% | |
| 9 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 1 | 1.4% | |
| 10 | Heat, spark from friction | 1 | 1.4% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 7 | 10.1% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Shipshewana departments in 2025. These 8 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $24,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 2 | $20,000 | Mobile property (vehicle) fire, other | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $15,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 4 | $10,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 5 | $3,000 | Mobile property (vehicle) fire, other | Significant | Investigated |
| 6 | $2,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 7 | $1,000 | Grass fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 8 | $1,000 | Off-road vehicle or heavy equipment fire | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Shipshewana sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 12 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 396 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2014 | Debris and open burning | 154 | 29.7 mi | |
| 2018 | Fireworks | 40 | 44.1 mi | |
| 2002 | Recreation and ceremony | 35 | 36.1 mi | |
| 2019 | Equipment and vehicle use | 25 | 38.2 mi | |
| 2019 | Equipment and vehicle use | 25 | 45.0 mi | |
| 2019 | Natural | 22 | 36.9 mi | |
| 2018 | Equipment and vehicle use | 21 | 48.0 mi | |
| 2004 | Debris and open burning | 20 | 35.3 mi | |
| 2002 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 15 | 46.3 mi | |
| 2018 | Equipment and vehicle use | 15 | 11.2 mi | |
| 2017 | Arson/incendiarism | 12 | 12.4 mi | |
| 2019 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 12 | 36.5 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 | 46565 | 271 |
Six Indiana cities with population within ±25% of Shipshewana. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
1 departments report to NFIRS for incidents in Shipshewana.
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.