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Risk & Response

Wells County, IN

Community risk profile | NRI Score: 49.5 Relatively Moderate

28,420
Population
5
Departments
5
Stations
7
Census Tracts

Natural Hazard Loss Profile

Expected annual loss across the 18 natural hazards in FEMA's National Risk Index. Life safety is expressed in fatality-equivalents, combining expected deaths and injuries. Property loss counts building damage only, not agriculture.

Natural Hazard Life Safety
0.16
expected fatality-equivalents per year, natural hazards only
78th highest of 92
Life Safety per 100k
0.55
natural hazard fatality-equivalents per 100,000 residents
79th highest of 92
Natural Hazard Property Loss
$7.2M
expected building loss per year, natural hazards only
64th highest of 92
Property Loss per Resident
$255
natural hazard building loss per resident per year
49th highest of 92

These figures cover natural hazards only. Structure fire, EMS, and motor vehicle incidents are not in the National Risk Index, so this is not an all-cause life safety measure. For Wells County, the largest single contributor is Tornado, 36% of the life-safety total.

Wells County carries an expected under 1 natural hazard fatality-equivalents and $7.2M in building loss per year. Rank chips compare the 92 Indiana counties. Nationally, Wells County ranks 2241st of 3,222 U.S. counties for life-safety loss, 2463rd for life safety per 100k residents, 1855th for property loss, and 2264th for property loss per resident. Computed from census tract data covering every resident, independent of fire department boundaries.

Add fire mortality, cause, and loss

Natural hazard exposure is only part of the risk. Fire deaths and injuries, cause of ignition, and dollar loss per incident come from NERIS incident reporting, which grows as departments serving Wells County enroll. Our Regional tier adds that data for the departments your jurisdiction sponsors, next to public risk and NERIS adoption for every department in Wells County.

Talk to us about Wells County See what a department sees

Loss Breakdown

75%
22%
Property (buildings): $7.2M (75.2%)
Life safety: $2.1M (22.1%)
Agriculture: $259K (2.7%)

Total expected annual loss: $9,624,567 per year. Life safety is shown here in dollars, at FEMA's $13.7M value of statistical life, so the three shares sum to the total.

Hazards Ranked Two Ways

The hazard that threatens people is often not the hazard that destroys buildings. Both columns cover the same 18 hazards over the same year.

By life-safety loss ($/yr)

Tornado
$765K
Strong Wind
$475K
Heat Wave
$407K
Cold Wave
$311K
Lightning
$60K
Inland Flooding
$54K

By property loss ($/yr)

Inland Flooding
$5.2M
Tornado
$1.3M
Earthquake
$295K
Strong Wind
$202K
Hail
$161K
Lightning
$19K

Census Tract Risk Map

Shaded by quintile across the census tracts in Wells County. Gray tracts have no modeled loss or no resident population. Per-resident figures on this map use the National Risk Index 2020 tract population.

Fire Service Profile

20%
80%
Combination: 20% (1)
Volunteer: 80% (4)
Residents per Station
5,684
census population per registered station
Stations per 100k
17.6
registered stations per 100,000 residents

Department composition covers the 5 departments registered in NERIS Public for Wells County, IN. Departments that have not registered are not counted. Station coverage divides census population by registered stations; department service areas overlap, so their populations are not summed.

Department Rankings

Fire and EMS departments serving Wells County. Click column headers to sort.

NRI Rating is from FEMA's National Risk Index, which measures community risk across 18 natural hazards using expected annual losses, social vulnerability, and community resilience. Life-Safety Loss uses FEMA's Value of Statistical Life ($13.7M per expected fatality) to estimate annual risk to human life.

Department boundaries and station counts are self-reported through NERIS Public and may not reflect current service areas. Population and Life-Safety Loss reflect each department's full jurisdiction. County-level risk metrics are computed from census tract data and are not affected by boundary accuracy. See full methodology.

Showing 5 departments
Department ▲ Est. Population ▲ Life-Safety Loss ▼ NRI Rating ▲ Stations ▲
Bluffton Fire Protection Territory 15,090 $1.1M Relatively Moderate 1
Ossian Volunteer Fire Department 5,897 $437.0K Relatively High 1
Liberty Center Township Fire Department 3,720 $282.1K Relatively Moderate 1
Nottingham Township Volunteer Fire Department 3,720 $282.1K Relatively Moderate 1
Poneto Volunteer Fire Department, Inc. 3,720 $282.1K Relatively Moderate 1
No departments match your search.

Risk Snapshot

7.2%
Poverty Rate
18.6%
Age 65+
12.7%
Disability Rate
6.9%
Uninsured
58.8%
Pre-1980 Housing
6.8%
Mobile Homes
4.4%
Vacancy Rate
2.1%
Wood Heat
$73,427
Median HH Income

FEMA Disaster Declarations

3
Last 10 Years
9
Last 25 Years
Snowstorm
Most Frequent

Every department in your region, on one briefing

Our Regional tier gives state fire marshals and county fire authorities one briefing across every department in the jurisdiction: priority tracts ranked by risk and demand, NERIS adoption by county, and a quarterly report with a page per department. Response times appear for the departments you sponsor. Free 90-day pilot.

Explore the Regional Tier See the Response Demo