In 2025, fire departments serving Argenta responded to 44 fire and hazmat incidents . Here's the full picture.
Brush, or brush and grass mixture fire lead by count. Building fires lead by dollars. Together the top five categories make up about 66% of all calls.
May peaks. Jun dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
135 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2025. $40K cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 18 | — | |
| 2022* | 14 | — | |
| 2023 | 24 | — | |
| 2024 | 35 | +45.8% | |
| 2025 | 44 | +25.7% |
* Well below Argenta's usual volume. That almost always means one or more departments didn't submit a full year to NFIRS, not that fires dropped, so no year-over-year change is shown for it.
For the 6 building fires Argenta departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 35 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 | 25.7% | |
| 2 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 5 | 14.3% | |
| 3 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 3 | 8.6% | |
| 4 | Outside area, other | 3 | 8.6% | |
| 5 | Other | 2 | 5.7% | |
| 6 | Cooking area, kitchen | 2 | 5.7% | |
| 7 | Wall assembly | 2 | 5.7% | |
| 8 | Wildland, woods | 2 | 5.7% | |
| 9 | Vehicle storage area; garage, carport | 1 | 2.9% | |
| 10 | Structural area, other | 1 | 2.9% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 5 | 14.3% |
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 Argenta mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 10 | 28.6% | |
| 2 | Arcing | 7 | 20.0% | |
| 3 | Heat source: other | 5 | 14.3% | |
| 4 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 3 | 8.6% | |
| 5 | Cigarette | 2 | 5.7% | |
| 6 | Heat spread from another fire, other | 2 | 5.7% | |
| 7 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 1 | 2.9% | |
| 8 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 1 | 2.9% | |
| 9 | Heat, spark from friction | 1 | 2.9% | |
| 10 | Hot ember or ash | 1 | 2.9% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 2 | 5.7% |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Argenta sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 1,269 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2012 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 200 | 38.3 mi | |
| 2009 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 160 | 45.6 mi | |
| 2013 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 100 | 40.0 mi | |
| 2018 | Equipment and vehicle use | 80 | 31.2 mi | |
| 2010 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 75 | 42.1 mi | |
| 2014 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 60 | 49.7 mi | |
| 2010 | Debris and open burning | 50 | 41.7 mi | |
| 2014 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 50 | 25.3 mi | |
| 2007 | Equipment and vehicle use | 50 | 32.0 mi | |
| 2010 | Debris and open burning | 50 | 45.0 mi | |
| 2014 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 50 | 40.9 mi | |
| 2010 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 40 | 49.1 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 Illinois cities with population within ±25% of Argenta. 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.