In 2025, fire departments serving West Lafayette responded to 35 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $25K 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 69% of all calls.
Jan peaks. Feb dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
215 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2022. $435K cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 40 | — | |
| 2022 | 58 | +45.0% | |
| 2023 | 35 | -39.7% | |
| 2024 | 47 | +34.3% | |
| 2025 | 35 | -25.5% |
For the 11 building fires West Lafayette departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 61 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 | 12 | 19.7% | |
| 2 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 8 | 13.1% | |
| 3 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 7 | 11.5% | |
| 4 | Other | 6 | 9.8% | |
| 5 | Wildland, woods | 5 | 8.2% | |
| 6 | Outside area, other | 3 | 4.9% | |
| 7 | Highway, parking lot, street: on or near | 3 | 4.9% | |
| 8 | Common room, den, family room, living room, lounge | 2 | 3.3% | |
| 9 | Bedroom - < 5 persons; included are jail or prison | 2 | 3.3% | |
| 10 | Cooking area, kitchen | 2 | 3.3% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 11 | 18.0% |
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 West Lafayette mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 31 | 50.8% | |
| 2 | Hot ember or ash | 6 | 9.8% | |
| 3 | Cigarette lighter | 5 | 8.2% | |
| 4 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 4 | 6.6% | |
| 5 | Flying brand, ember, spark | 3 | 4.9% | |
| 6 | Arcing | 2 | 3.3% | |
| 7 | Cigarette | 2 | 3.3% | |
| 8 | Heat from direct flame, convection currents | 2 | 3.3% | |
| 9 | Heat source: other | 1 | 1.6% | |
| 10 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 1 | 1.6% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 4 | 6.6% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by West Lafayette departments in 2025. These 5 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $25,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 2 | $20,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $10,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 4 | $500 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 5 | $1 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. West Lafayette sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 1,502 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2014 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 175 | 36.3 mi | |
| 2015 | Debris and open burning | 171 | 41.4 mi | |
| 2013 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 150 | 12.9 mi | |
| 2019 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 100 | 42.6 mi | |
| 2014 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 100 | 6.2 mi | |
| 2013 | Recreation and ceremony | 75 | 15.5 mi | |
| 2020 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 60 | 43.1 mi | |
| 2014 | Debris and open burning | 60 | 35.8 mi | |
| 2015 | Debris and open burning | 50 | 45.8 mi | |
| 2015 | Debris and open burning | 50 | 39.6 mi | |
| 2015 | Arson/incendiarism | 50 | 38.0 mi | |
| 2014 | Debris and open burning | 50 | 20.9 mi |
Top 5 ZIP codes by NFIRS incident count across 2021–2025. Each ZIP has its own fire profile — dive in for neighborhood-level context.
Six Ohio cities with population within ±25% of West Lafayette. 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.