In 2025, fire departments serving Warsaw responded to 197 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $100K 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 49% of all calls.
Mar peaks. Sep dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
1,095 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2024. $4.6M cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 214 | — | |
| 2022 | 232 | +8.4% | |
| 2023 | 200 | -13.8% | |
| 2024 | 252 | +26.0% | |
| 2025 | 197 | -21.8% |
For the 24 building fires Warsaw departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 329 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 | 62 | 18.8% | |
| 2 | Undetermined | 40 | 12.2% | |
| 3 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 37 | 11.2% | |
| 4 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 28 | 8.5% | |
| 5 | Cooking area, kitchen | 26 | 7.9% | |
| 6 | Other | 16 | 4.9% | |
| 7 | Vehicle area, other | 10 | 3.0% | |
| 8 | Wildland, woods | 8 | 2.4% | |
| 9 | Highway, parking lot, street: on or near | 7 | 2.1% | |
| 10 | Processing/manufacturing area, workroom | 6 | 1.8% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 89 | 27.1% |
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 Warsaw mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 190 | 57.8% | |
| 2 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 14 | 4.3% | |
| 3 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 13 | 4.0% | |
| 4 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 12 | 3.6% | |
| 5 | Arcing | 12 | 3.6% | |
| 6 | Cigarette lighter | 12 | 3.6% | |
| 7 | Hot ember or ash | 11 | 3.3% | |
| 8 | Heat source: other | 9 | 2.7% | |
| 9 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 8 | 2.4% | |
| 10 | Flame/torch used for lighting | 7 | 2.1% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 41 | 12.5% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Warsaw departments in 2025. These 8 fires alone account for 81% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $100,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 2 | $100,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $50,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 4 | $50,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 5 | $40,000 | Road freight or transport vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 6 | $20,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 7 | $20,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 8 | $15,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Warsaw sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 7 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 167 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 | 46.7 mi | |
| 2002 | Recreation and ceremony | 35 | 44.3 mi | |
| 2005 | Recreation and ceremony | 20 | 48.7 mi | |
| 2004 | Debris and open burning | 20 | 44.6 mi | |
| 2002 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 15 | 27.6 mi | |
| 2018 | Equipment and vehicle use | 15 | 41.1 mi | |
| 2017 | Arson/incendiarism | 12 | 37.7 mi |
Top 7 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 Warsaw. 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.