In 2025, fire departments serving West Terre Haute responded to 26 fire and hazmat incidents . Here's the full picture.
Building fires lead by count. Building fires lead by dollars. Together the top five categories make up about 81% of all calls.
Nov peaks. Sep dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
202 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2023. $231K cumulative property loss. 1 civilian deaths.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 36 | — | |
| 2022 | 42 | +16.7% | |
| 2023 | 51 | +21.4% | |
| 2024 | 47 | -7.8% | |
| 2025 | 26 | -44.7% |
For the 9 building fires West Terre Haute departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 25 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 | 9 | 36.0% | |
| 2 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 5 | 20.0% | |
| 3 | Egress/exit, other | 2 | 8.0% | |
| 4 | Bedroom - < 5 persons; included are jail or prison | 2 | 8.0% | |
| 5 | Outside area, other | 2 | 8.0% | |
| 6 | Function area, other | 1 | 4.0% | |
| 7 | Processing/manufacturing area, workroom | 1 | 4.0% | |
| 8 | Substructure area or space, crawl space | 1 | 4.0% | |
| 9 | Exterior balcony, unenclosed porch | 1 | 4.0% | |
| 10 | Wall assembly | 1 | 4.0% |
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 Terre Haute mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 15 | 60.0% | |
| 2 | Arcing | 2 | 8.0% | |
| 3 | Heat from other open flame or smoking materials | 2 | 8.0% | |
| 4 | Heat source: other | 1 | 4.0% | |
| 5 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 1 | 4.0% | |
| 6 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 1 | 4.0% | |
| 7 | Cigarette lighter | 1 | 4.0% | |
| 8 | Chemical reaction | 1 | 4.0% | |
| 9 | Heat spread from another fire, other | 1 | 4.0% |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. West Terre Haute sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 13 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 460 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2003 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 150 | 0.6 mi | |
| 2003 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 100 | 1.1 mi | |
| 2001 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 40 | 21.4 mi | |
| 2005 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 40 | 6.6 mi | |
| 2011 | Debris and open burning | 20 | 49.8 mi | |
| 2007 | Arson/incendiarism | 20 | 29.8 mi | |
| 2004 | Arson/incendiarism | 20 | 28.7 mi | |
| 1993 | Arson/incendiarism | 20 | 49.8 mi | |
| 2002 | Equipment and vehicle use | 10 | 27.3 mi | |
| 2002 | Debris and open burning | 10 | 28.7 mi | |
| 2003 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 10 | 14.8 mi | |
| 2005 | Recreation and ceremony | 10 | 3.7 mi |
Top 1 ZIP codes by NFIRS incident count across 2021–2025. Each ZIP has its own fire profile — dive in for neighborhood-level context.
| # | ZIP | 5-yr incidents | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 47885 | 202 |
Six Indiana cities with population within ±25% of West Terre Haute. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
1 departments report to NFIRS for incidents in West Terre Haute.
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.