In 2025, fire departments serving Winamac responded to 47 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 57% of all calls.
Mar peaks. Sep dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
226 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2024. $1.1M cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 45 | — | |
| 2022 | 45 | +0.0% | |
| 2023 | 41 | -8.9% | |
| 2024 | 48 | +17.1% | |
| 2025 | 47 | -2.1% |
For the 8 building fires Winamac departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 63 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 | 11 | 17.5% | |
| 2 | Undetermined | 9 | 14.3% | |
| 3 | Outside area, other | 8 | 12.7% | |
| 4 | Ceiling & floor assembly, crawl space b/t stories | 3 | 4.8% | |
| 5 | Wall surface: exterior | 3 | 4.8% | |
| 6 | Operator/passenger area of transportation equip. | 3 | 4.8% | |
| 7 | Dining room, cafeteria bar area, beverage service | 2 | 3.2% | |
| 8 | Cooking area, kitchen | 2 | 3.2% | |
| 9 | Laundry area, wash house (laundry) | 2 | 3.2% | |
| 10 | Structural area, other | 2 | 3.2% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 18 | 28.6% |
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 Winamac mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 30 | 47.6% | |
| 2 | Arcing | 7 | 11.1% | |
| 3 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 3 | 4.8% | |
| 4 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 3 | 4.8% | |
| 5 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 2 | 3.2% | |
| 6 | Hot ember or ash | 2 | 3.2% | |
| 7 | Cigarette lighter | 2 | 3.2% | |
| 8 | Flame/torch used for lighting | 2 | 3.2% | |
| 9 | Heat spread from another fire, other | 2 | 3.2% | |
| 10 | Flying brand, ember, spark | 2 | 3.2% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 8 | 12.7% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Winamac departments in 2025. These 8 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $100,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 2 | $40,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $40,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 4 | $10,000 | Grass fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 5 | $10,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 6 | $8,000 | Special outside fire, other | Significant | Investigated |
| 7 | $5,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 8 | $2,500 | Cultivated vegetation, crop fire, other | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Winamac sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 22 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 532 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1992 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 47 | 48.0 mi | |
| 1994 | Equipment and vehicle use | 47 | 50.0 mi | |
| 2017 | Arson/incendiarism | 37 | 49.7 mi | |
| 2019 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 37 | 49.7 mi | |
| 2005 | Natural | 32 | 48.6 mi | |
| 1995 | Railroad operations and maintenance | 30 | 46.9 mi | |
| 2000 | Arson/incendiarism | 25 | 48.1 mi | |
| 2001 | Misuse of fire by a minor | 25 | 49.1 mi | |
| 2006 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 25 | 48.1 mi | |
| 2003 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 25 | 35.7 mi | |
| 1995 | Arson/incendiarism | 24 | 50.0 mi | |
| 1995 | Railroad operations and maintenance | 22 | 41.1 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 | 46996 | 226 |
Six Indiana cities with population within ±25% of Winamac. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
1 departments report to NFIRS for incidents in Winamac.
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.