In 2025, fire departments serving Wakarusa responded to 23 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $600 building blaze. Here's the full picture.
Gas leak (natural gas or LPG) lead by count. Building fires lead by dollars. Together the top five categories make up about 70% of all calls.
May peaks. Apr dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
120 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2023. $433K cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 20 | — | |
| 2022 | 25 | +25.0% | |
| 2023 | 33 | +32.0% | |
| 2024 | 19 | -42.4% | |
| 2025 | 23 | +21.1% |
For the 2 building fires Wakarusa departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 22 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 | Outside area, other | 4 | 18.2% | |
| 2 | Storage area, other | 3 | 13.6% | |
| 3 | Equipment or service area, other | 2 | 9.1% | |
| 4 | Vehicle area, other | 2 | 9.1% | |
| 5 | Undetermined | 2 | 9.1% | |
| 6 | Interior stairway or ramp | 1 | 4.5% | |
| 7 | Function area, other | 1 | 4.5% | |
| 8 | Laundry area, wash house (laundry) | 1 | 4.5% | |
| 9 | Chute/container - trash, rubbish, waste | 1 | 4.5% | |
| 10 | Duct: hvac, cable, exhaust, heating, or AC | 1 | 4.5% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 4 | 18.2% |
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 Wakarusa mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Heat source: other | 4 | 18.2% | |
| 2 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 4 | 18.2% | |
| 3 | Arcing | 3 | 13.6% | |
| 4 | Undetermined | 3 | 13.6% | |
| 5 | Conducted heat from another fire | 2 | 9.1% | |
| 6 | Multiple heat sources including multiple ignitions | 2 | 9.1% | |
| 7 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 1 | 4.5% | |
| 8 | Heat, spark from friction | 1 | 4.5% | |
| 9 | Cigarette | 1 | 4.5% | |
| 10 | Heat spread from another fire, other | 1 | 4.5% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Wakarusa departments in 2025. These 1 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $600 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Wakarusa sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 3 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 42 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2002 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 15 | 22.0 mi | |
| 2018 | Equipment and vehicle use | 15 | 27.1 mi | |
| 2017 | Arson/incendiarism | 12 | 21.7 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 Wakarusa. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
1 departments report to NFIRS for incidents in Wakarusa.
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.