In 2025, fire departments serving Indian River County responded to 947 fire and hazmat incidents — including a single $285K property loss. FEMA NRI rates wildfire risk here as Very High.
Aircraft standby lead by count. Top five categories make up about 43% of all calls.
Mar peaks. Dec dips.
5,143 incidents from 2021 through 2025.
| Year | Incidents | |
|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 910 | |
| 2022 | 1,162 | |
| 2023 | 959 | |
| 2024 | 1,165 | |
| 2025 | 947 |
For the 35 building fires departments responded to in 2025, here's how investigators classified them.
Largest single-incident property losses in Indian River County during 2025. These 10 fires alone account for 55% of the county's total.
| # | Property loss | City | Type | Severity |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $285,000 | VERO BEACH | Camper or recreational vehicle (RV) fire | Major |
| 2 | $200,000 | VERO BEACH | Off-road vehicle or heavy equipment fire | Significant |
| 3 | $200,000 | VERO BEACH | Building fires | Significant |
| 4 | $150,000 | VERO BEACH | Building fires | Significant |
| 5 | $100,000 | FELLSMERE | Building fires | Significant |
| 6 | $100,000 | VERO BEACH | Building fires | Significant |
| 7 | $90,000 | VERO BEACH | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant |
| 8 | $89,600 | VERO BEACH | Building fires | Significant |
| 9 | $75,000 | SEBASTIAN | Off-road vehicle or heavy equipment fire | Significant |
| 10 | $75,000 | VERO BEACH | Building fires | Significant |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples.
12 cities mapped to FIPS 12061.
| City | Population | |
|---|---|---|
| Vero Beach South | 29,965 | View › |
| Sebastian | 25,266 | View › |
| Florida Ridge | 22,549 | View › |
| Vero Beach | 16,531 | View › |
| West Vero Corridor | 10,315 | View › |
| Vero Lake Estates | 6,714 | View › |
| Fellsmere | 4,885 | View › |
| Gifford | 4,868 | View › |
| Winter Beach | 4,273 | View › |
| Indian River Shores | 4,266 | View › |
| South Beach | 3,120 | View › |
| Wabasso Beach | 2,101 | View › |
2 departments report from this county.
Top 10 fire perimeters by acres burned (state-scoped fallback while we build out per-county polygons).
| # | Name | Year | Agency | Acres |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | DOF Prarie Fire | 2011 | NPS | 68,028 |
| 2 | CP3 RX | 2021 | NPS | 66,918 |
| 3 | Buzzard | 2018 | NPS | 62,454 |
| 4 | Tarpon (BIL) | 2023 | NPS | 52,542 |
| 5 | CP-2 Exotics (BIL) | 2023 | NPS | 49,703 |
| 6 | EVER CP3 Exotics Rx | 2024 | NPS | 47,986 |
| 7 | ROG-South (BIL) | 2023 | NPS | 47,619 |
| 8 | ROG-South/Southern Glades | 2020 | NPS | 43,751 |
| 9 | BICY Kirby Rx FY24 | 2024 | NPS | 39,765 |
| 10 | Mustang Corner | 2008 | NPS | 39,423 |
County-level NFIRS aggregates for 2025, plus 5-year totals across 2021–2025. NFIRS is voluntary — about 23,000 of roughly 30,000 US fire departments report — so totals are a strong indicator, not a complete census. Wildfire risk score (0–100) and Expected Annual Loss come from FEMA's National Risk Index. Drought class is the most recent USDM classification (D0 = abnormally dry through D4 = exceptional drought). Historical fire perimeters are sourced from the NIFC InterAgency Fire Perimeter History.