In 2025, fire departments serving South Bend responded to 905 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $100K building blaze. Here's the full picture.
Power line down lead by count. Building fires lead by dollars. Together the top five categories make up about 66% of all calls.
Nov peaks. Sep dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
4,358 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2021. $5.4M cumulative property loss. 1 civilian deaths.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 1,007 | — | |
| 2022 | 846 | -16.0% | |
| 2023 | 676 | -20.1% | |
| 2024 | 924 | +36.7% | |
| 2025 | 905 | -2.1% |
For the 56 building fires South Bend departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 951 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 | 267 | 28.1% | |
| 2 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 179 | 18.8% | |
| 3 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 139 | 14.6% | |
| 4 | Operator/passenger area of transportation equip. | 50 | 5.3% | |
| 5 | Highway, parking lot, street: on or near | 37 | 3.9% | |
| 6 | Outside area, other | 35 | 3.7% | |
| 7 | Wildland, woods | 24 | 2.5% | |
| 8 | Cooking area, kitchen | 23 | 2.4% | |
| 9 | Exterior, exposed surface | 23 | 2.4% | |
| 10 | Wall surface: exterior | 19 | 2.0% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 155 | 16.3% |
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 South Bend mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 603 | 63.4% | |
| 2 | Hot ember or ash | 38 | 4.0% | |
| 3 | Arcing | 35 | 3.7% | |
| 4 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 35 | 3.7% | |
| 5 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 28 | 2.9% | |
| 6 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 27 | 2.8% | |
| 7 | Heat source: other | 21 | 2.2% | |
| 8 | Match | 20 | 2.1% | |
| 9 | Cigarette lighter | 20 | 2.1% | |
| 10 | Heat from direct flame, convection currents | 18 | 1.9% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 106 | 11.1% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by South Bend departments in 2025. These 8 fires alone account for 53% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $100,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 2 | $77,000 | Fire in motor home, camper, recreational vehicle | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $75,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 4 | $50,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 5 | $50,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 6 | $30,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 7 | $30,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 8 | $30,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. South Bend sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 16 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 343 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1992 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 47 | 40.3 mi | |
| 2015 | Arson/incendiarism | 47 | 49.2 mi | |
| 1995 | Railroad operations and maintenance | 30 | 43.5 mi | |
| 2000 | Arson/incendiarism | 25 | 39.4 mi | |
| 2006 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 25 | 41.1 mi | |
| 2003 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 25 | 44.0 mi | |
| 1995 | Railroad operations and maintenance | 22 | 46.4 mi | |
| 2015 | Arson/incendiarism | 17 | 48.2 mi | |
| 1996 | Debris and open burning | 16 | 37.2 mi | |
| 2002 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 15 | 23.1 mi | |
| 2018 | Equipment and vehicle use | 15 | 33.0 mi | |
| 2020 | Railroad operations and maintenance | 14 | 46.4 mi |
Top 10 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 South Bend. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
4 departments report to NFIRS for incidents in South Bend.
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.