In 2025, fire departments serving Albion responded to 23 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 61% of all calls.
Jul peaks. May dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
95 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2025. $196K cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 19 | — | |
| 2022 | 22 | +15.8% | |
| 2023 | 16 | -27.3% | |
| 2024 | 15 | -6.2% | |
| 2025 | 23 | +53.3% |
For the 2 building fires Albion departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 43 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 | 12 | 27.9% | |
| 2 | Other | 11 | 25.6% | |
| 3 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 7 | 16.3% | |
| 4 | Cooking area, kitchen | 4 | 9.3% | |
| 5 | Ceiling & floor assembly, crawl space b/t stories | 2 | 4.7% | |
| 6 | Outside area, other | 2 | 4.7% | |
| 7 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 2 | 4.7% | |
| 8 | Bathroom, checkroom, lavatory, locker room | 1 | 2.3% | |
| 9 | Storage area, other | 1 | 2.3% | |
| 10 | Operator/passenger area of transportation equip. | 1 | 2.3% |
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 Albion mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 19 | 44.2% | |
| 2 | Heat source: other | 15 | 34.9% | |
| 3 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 2 | 4.7% | |
| 4 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 2 | 4.7% | |
| 5 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 1 | 2.3% | |
| 6 | Arcing | 1 | 2.3% | |
| 7 | Hot ember or ash | 1 | 2.3% | |
| 8 | Lightning | 1 | 2.3% | |
| 9 | Heat spread from another fire, other | 1 | 2.3% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Albion departments in 2025. These 3 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $60,000 | Fires in structures other than in a building | Significant | Investigated |
| 2 | $60,000 | Fires in structures other than in a building | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $3,000 | Off-road vehicle or heavy equipment fire | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Albion sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 3,615 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2009 | Equipment and vehicle use | 1,000 | 43.1 mi | |
| 2013 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 716 | 40.8 mi | |
| 2012 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 418 | 38.3 mi | |
| 2006 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 365 | 45.4 mi | |
| 2006 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 356 | 46.3 mi | |
| 2009 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 160 | 43.0 mi | |
| 2001 | Smoking | 80 | 36.8 mi | |
| 2013 | Recreation and ceremony | 65 | 40.1 mi | |
| 2002 | Arson/incendiarism | 60 | 48.5 mi | |
| 2003 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 50 | 46.1 mi | |
| 2004 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 50 | 49.2 mi | |
| 2010 | Debris and open burning | 43 | 16.3 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 | 62806 | 95 |
Six Illinois cities with population within ±25% of Albion. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
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.