In 2025, fire departments serving Wadesville responded to 20 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $50K building blaze. Here's the full picture.
Building fires lead by count. Building fires lead by dollars. Together the top five categories make up about 80% of all calls.
Mar peaks. Feb dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
91 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2023. $325K cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021* | 8 | — | |
| 2022 | 12 | — | |
| 2023 | 29 | +141.7% | |
| 2024 | 22 | -24.1% | |
| 2025 | 20 | -9.1% |
* Well below Wadesville'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 5 building fires Wadesville departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 13 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 | Vehicle storage area; garage, carport | 4 | 30.8% | |
| 2 | Undetermined | 3 | 23.1% | |
| 3 | Vehicle area, other | 2 | 15.4% | |
| 4 | Outside area, other | 2 | 15.4% | |
| 5 | Maintenance shop or area, paint shop or area | 1 | 7.7% | |
| 6 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 1 | 7.7% |
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 Wadesville mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 4 | 30.8% | |
| 2 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 3 | 23.1% | |
| 3 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 2 | 15.4% | |
| 4 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 1 | 7.7% | |
| 5 | Heat from other open flame or smoking materials | 1 | 7.7% | |
| 6 | Chemical reaction | 1 | 7.7% | |
| 7 | Multiple heat sources including multiple ignitions | 1 | 7.7% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Wadesville departments in 2025. These 1 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $50,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Wadesville sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 5,088 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2009 | Equipment and vehicle use | 1,000 | 43.5 mi | |
| 2013 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 716 | 30.7 mi | |
| 2012 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 418 | 29.2 mi | |
| 2006 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 365 | 37.0 mi | |
| 2006 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 356 | 32.0 mi | |
| 2000 | Arson/incendiarism | 180 | 46.8 mi | |
| 2020 | Equipment and vehicle use | 177 | 41.9 mi | |
| 2020 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 176 | 42.7 mi | |
| 2009 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 160 | 43.3 mi | |
| 2000 | Railroad operations and maintenance | 150 | 49.1 mi | |
| 2012 | Debris and open burning | 122 | 47.9 mi | |
| 2005 | Debris and open burning | 115 | 45.2 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 Wadesville. 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.