In 2025, fire departments serving Altona responded to 17 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $10K 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 77% of all calls.
May peaks. Jan dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
39 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2025. $196K cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 7 | — | |
| 2022 | 5 | -28.6% | |
| 2023 | 5 | +0.0% | |
| 2024 | 5 | +0.0% | |
| 2025 | 17 | +240.0% |
For the 6 building fires Altona departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 9 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 | Outside area, other | 2 | 22.2% | |
| 2 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 2 | 22.2% | |
| 3 | Undetermined | 2 | 22.2% | |
| 4 | Cooking area, kitchen | 1 | 11.1% | |
| 5 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 1 | 11.1% | |
| 6 | Fuel tank, fuel line | 1 | 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 Altona mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 4 | 44.4% | |
| 2 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 1 | 11.1% | |
| 3 | Match | 1 | 11.1% | |
| 4 | Flame/torch used for lighting | 1 | 11.1% | |
| 5 | Heat spread from another fire, other | 1 | 11.1% | |
| 6 | Conducted heat from another fire | 1 | 11.1% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Altona departments in 2025. These 3 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $10,000 | Fires in structures other than in a building | Significant | Investigated |
| 2 | $5,000 | Off-road vehicle or heavy equipment fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $1,000 | Outside equipment fire | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Altona sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 7,738 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2015 | Debris and open burning | 1,500 | 41.4 mi | |
| 2003 | Recreation and ceremony | 1,200 | 49.3 mi | |
| 2000 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 832 | 49.3 mi | |
| 2003 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 820 | 49.3 mi | |
| 2015 | Debris and open burning | 640 | 41.4 mi | |
| 2003 | Arson/incendiarism | 630 | 49.3 mi | |
| 1996 | Debris and open burning | 333 | 48.7 mi | |
| 2000 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 282 | 49.3 mi | |
| 2000 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 232 | 49.3 mi | |
| 2018 | Debris and open burning | 200 | 28.1 mi | |
| 2015 | Debris and open burning | 195 | 30.9 mi | |
| 2000 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 174 | 49.3 mi |
Top 3 ZIP codes by NFIRS incident count across 2021–2025. Each ZIP has its own fire profile — dive in for neighborhood-level context.
Six Illinois cities with population within ±25% of Altona. 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.