In 2025, fire departments serving Wolcottville responded to 34 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $240K 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 88% of all calls.
Aug peaks. Sep dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
130 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2025. $844K cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 21 | — | |
| 2022 | 24 | +14.3% | |
| 2023 | 26 | +8.3% | |
| 2024 | 25 | -3.8% | |
| 2025 | 34 | +36.0% |
For the 21 building fires Wolcottville departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 27 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 | 33.3% | |
| 2 | Cooking area, kitchen | 2 | 7.4% | |
| 3 | Storage room, area, tank, or bin | 2 | 7.4% | |
| 4 | Attic: vacant, crawl space above top story, cupola | 2 | 7.4% | |
| 5 | Wall surface: exterior | 2 | 7.4% | |
| 6 | Operator/passenger area of transportation equip. | 2 | 7.4% | |
| 7 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 2 | 7.4% | |
| 8 | Other | 1 | 3.7% | |
| 9 | Common room, den, family room, living room, lounge | 1 | 3.7% | |
| 10 | Function area, other | 1 | 3.7% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 3 | 11.1% |
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 Wolcottville mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 9 | 33.3% | |
| 2 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 4 | 14.8% | |
| 3 | Arcing | 3 | 11.1% | |
| 4 | Heat source: other | 2 | 7.4% | |
| 5 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 2 | 7.4% | |
| 6 | Match | 2 | 7.4% | |
| 7 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 1 | 3.7% | |
| 8 | Molten, hot material | 1 | 3.7% | |
| 9 | Hot ember or ash | 1 | 3.7% | |
| 10 | Flame/torch used for lighting | 1 | 3.7% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 1 | 3.7% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Wolcottville departments in 2025. These 5 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $240,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 2 | $50,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $30,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 4 | $15,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 5 | $12,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Wolcottville sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 11 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 380 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2014 | Debris and open burning | 154 | 27.0 mi | |
| 2006 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 50 | 39.8 mi | |
| 2002 | Recreation and ceremony | 35 | 21.4 mi | |
| 2019 | Equipment and vehicle use | 25 | 33.3 mi | |
| 2019 | Equipment and vehicle use | 25 | 46.1 mi | |
| 2019 | Natural | 22 | 36.3 mi | |
| 2004 | Debris and open burning | 20 | 20.7 mi | |
| 2018 | Equipment and vehicle use | 15 | 25.6 mi | |
| 2017 | Arson/incendiarism | 12 | 27.3 mi | |
| 2019 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 12 | 39.2 mi | |
| 2019 | Equipment and vehicle use | 10 | 49.6 mi |
Top 2 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 Wolcottville. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
1 departments report to NFIRS for incidents in Wolcottville.
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.