In 2025, fire departments serving Wabash responded to 69 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $200K building blaze. Here's the full picture.
Fire, other lead by count. Building fires lead by dollars. Together the top five categories make up about 77% of all calls.
Jan peaks. Sep dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
416 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2024. $2.2M cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 68 | — | |
| 2022 | 94 | +38.2% | |
| 2023 | 84 | -10.6% | |
| 2024 | 101 | +20.2% | |
| 2025 | 69 | -31.7% |
For the 14 building fires Wabash departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 164 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 | 38 | 23.2% | |
| 2 | Other | 28 | 17.1% | |
| 3 | Outside area, other | 24 | 14.6% | |
| 4 | Cooking area, kitchen | 14 | 8.5% | |
| 5 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 11 | 6.7% | |
| 6 | Vehicle area, other | 5 | 3.0% | |
| 7 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 5 | 3.0% | |
| 8 | Storage area, other | 3 | 1.8% | |
| 9 | Storage: supplies or tools; dead storage | 3 | 1.8% | |
| 10 | Equipment or service area, other | 3 | 1.8% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 30 | 18.3% |
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 Wabash mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 84 | 51.2% | |
| 2 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 16 | 9.8% | |
| 3 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 16 | 9.8% | |
| 4 | Heat source: other | 12 | 7.3% | |
| 5 | Arcing | 7 | 4.3% | |
| 6 | Cigarette lighter | 7 | 4.3% | |
| 7 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 6 | 3.7% | |
| 8 | Heat from other open flame or smoking materials | 4 | 2.4% | |
| 9 | Hot ember or ash | 3 | 1.8% | |
| 10 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 2 | 1.2% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 7 | 4.3% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Wabash departments in 2025. These 8 fires alone account for 95% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $200,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 2 | $100,000 | Mobile property (vehicle) fire, other | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $60,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 4 | $40,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 5 | $30,000 | Fire, other | Significant | Investigated |
| 6 | $15,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 7 | $10,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 8 | $10,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Wabash sits below the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 4 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 95 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2006 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 50 | 45.9 mi | |
| 2005 | Recreation and ceremony | 20 | 22.7 mi | |
| 2002 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 15 | 46.8 mi | |
| 2003 | Debris and open burning | 10 | 36.8 mi |
Top 2 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 Wabash. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
3 departments report to NFIRS for incidents in Wabash.
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.