In 2025, fire departments serving Whitestown responded to 85 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $60K 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 53% of all calls.
Aug peaks. Sep dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
375 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2024. $1.8M cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 56 | — | |
| 2022 | 75 | +33.9% | |
| 2023 | 69 | -8.0% | |
| 2024 | 90 | +30.4% | |
| 2025 | 85 | -5.6% |
For the 11 building fires Whitestown departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 92 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 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 21 | 22.8% | |
| 2 | Undetermined | 16 | 17.4% | |
| 3 | Outside area, other | 10 | 10.9% | |
| 4 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 7 | 7.6% | |
| 5 | Cooking area, kitchen | 6 | 6.5% | |
| 6 | Highway, parking lot, street: on or near | 6 | 6.5% | |
| 7 | Cargo/trunk area - all vehicles | 4 | 4.3% | |
| 8 | Chute/container - trash, rubbish, waste | 3 | 3.3% | |
| 9 | Other | 2 | 2.2% | |
| 10 | Storage room, area, tank, or bin | 2 | 2.2% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 15 | 16.3% |
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 Whitestown mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 47 | 51.1% | |
| 2 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 7 | 7.6% | |
| 3 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 7 | 7.6% | |
| 4 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 4 | 4.3% | |
| 5 | Cigarette | 4 | 4.3% | |
| 6 | Heat source: other | 3 | 3.3% | |
| 7 | Arcing | 3 | 3.3% | |
| 8 | Hot ember or ash | 3 | 3.3% | |
| 9 | Chemical reaction | 3 | 3.3% | |
| 10 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 2 | 2.2% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 9 | 9.8% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Whitestown departments in 2025. These 8 fires alone account for 99% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $60,000 | Road freight or transport vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 2 | $50,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $25,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 4 | $10,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 5 | $5,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 6 | $5,000 | Road freight or transport vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 7 | $2,000 | Dumpster or other outside trash receptacle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 8 | $1,441 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Whitestown sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 3 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 1,604 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2007 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 1,549 | 46.8 mi | |
| 2001 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 40 | 49.4 mi | |
| 2004 | Arson/incendiarism | 15 | 34.6 mi |
Top 4 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 Whitestown. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
1 departments report to NFIRS for incidents in Whitestown.
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.