In 2025, fire departments serving Thorntown responded to 42 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $30K building blaze. Here's the full picture.
Grass fire lead by count. Building fires lead by dollars. Together the top five categories make up about 57% of all calls.
Nov peaks. Sep dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
156 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2024. $885K cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021* | 8 | — | |
| 2022* | 9 | — | |
| 2023 | 44 | — | |
| 2024 | 53 | +20.5% | |
| 2025 | 42 | -20.8% |
* Well below Thorntown'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 Thorntown departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 45 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 | 19 | 42.2% | |
| 2 | Outside area, other | 4 | 8.9% | |
| 3 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 3 | 6.7% | |
| 4 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 3 | 6.7% | |
| 5 | Other | 2 | 4.4% | |
| 6 | Exterior balcony, unenclosed porch | 2 | 4.4% | |
| 7 | Exterior, exposed surface | 2 | 4.4% | |
| 8 | Common room, den, family room, living room, lounge | 1 | 2.2% | |
| 9 | Bathroom, checkroom, lavatory, locker room | 1 | 2.2% | |
| 10 | Closet | 1 | 2.2% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 7 | 15.6% |
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 Thorntown mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 23 | 51.1% | |
| 2 | Heat source: other | 4 | 8.9% | |
| 3 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 3 | 6.7% | |
| 4 | Arcing | 3 | 6.7% | |
| 5 | Cigarette lighter | 2 | 4.4% | |
| 6 | Flame/torch used for lighting | 2 | 4.4% | |
| 7 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 1 | 2.2% | |
| 8 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 1 | 2.2% | |
| 9 | Hot ember or ash | 1 | 2.2% | |
| 10 | Heat from other open flame or smoking materials | 1 | 2.2% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 4 | 8.9% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Thorntown departments in 2025. These 2 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $30,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 2 | $5,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Thorntown sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 2 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 55 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2001 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 40 | 50.0 mi | |
| 2004 | Arson/incendiarism | 15 | 18.0 mi |
Top 3 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 Thorntown. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
1 departments report to NFIRS for incidents in Thorntown.
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.