In 2025, fire departments serving Trafalgar responded to 35 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $12K 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.
Apr peaks. Jan dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
190 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2023. $363K cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 30 | — | |
| 2022 | 33 | +10.0% | |
| 2023 | 49 | +48.5% | |
| 2024 | 43 | -12.2% | |
| 2025 | 35 | -18.6% |
For the 6 building fires Trafalgar departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 47 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 | 11 | 23.4% | |
| 2 | Outside area, other | 6 | 12.8% | |
| 3 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 5 | 10.6% | |
| 4 | Other | 4 | 8.5% | |
| 5 | Storage area, other | 3 | 6.4% | |
| 6 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 3 | 6.4% | |
| 7 | Operator/passenger area of transportation equip. | 2 | 4.3% | |
| 8 | Exterior, exposed surface | 2 | 4.3% | |
| 9 | Bedroom - < 5 persons; included are jail or prison | 1 | 2.1% | |
| 10 | Laundry area, wash house (laundry) | 1 | 2.1% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 9 | 19.1% |
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 Trafalgar mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 23 | 48.9% | |
| 2 | Arcing | 4 | 8.5% | |
| 3 | Heat source: other | 3 | 6.4% | |
| 4 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 3 | 6.4% | |
| 5 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 2 | 4.3% | |
| 6 | Heat from other open flame or smoking materials | 2 | 4.3% | |
| 7 | Match | 2 | 4.3% | |
| 8 | Flame/torch used for lighting | 2 | 4.3% | |
| 9 | Hot ember or ash | 1 | 2.1% | |
| 10 | Fireworks | 1 | 2.1% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 4 | 8.5% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Trafalgar departments in 2025. These 3 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $12,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 2 | $4,000 | Off-road vehicle or heavy equipment fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $125 | Dumpster or other outside trash receptacle fire | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Trafalgar sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 5,026 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2007 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 1,549 | 7.1 mi | |
| 2010 | Arson/incendiarism | 870 | 48.6 mi | |
| 2010 | Arson/incendiarism | 450 | 48.7 mi | |
| 2003 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 300 | 48.2 mi | |
| 2011 | Arson/incendiarism | 280 | 48.5 mi | |
| 2015 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 220 | 48.5 mi | |
| 2001 | Arson/incendiarism | 200 | 48.6 mi | |
| 2007 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 165 | 11.0 mi | |
| 2007 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 156 | 10.5 mi | |
| 2011 | Arson/incendiarism | 100 | 48.2 mi | |
| 2018 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 74 | 48.5 mi | |
| 2020 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 72 | 48.4 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 | 46181 | 190 |
Six Indiana cities with population within ±25% of Trafalgar. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
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.