In 2025, fire departments serving Ashton responded to 40 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $60K 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 83% of all calls.
Mar peaks. Jan dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
99 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2025. $239K cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 13 | — | |
| 2022 | 15 | +15.4% | |
| 2023 | 14 | -6.7% | |
| 2024 | 17 | +21.4% | |
| 2025 | 40 | +135.3% |
For the 18 building fires Ashton departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 18 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 | 50.0% | |
| 2 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 3 | 16.7% | |
| 3 | Wall surface: exterior | 2 | 11.1% | |
| 4 | Other | 1 | 5.6% | |
| 5 | Cooking area, kitchen | 1 | 5.6% | |
| 6 | Exterior balcony, unenclosed porch | 1 | 5.6% | |
| 7 | Roof surface: exterior | 1 | 5.6% |
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 Ashton mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 8 | 44.4% | |
| 2 | Arcing | 3 | 16.7% | |
| 3 | Heat from other open flame or smoking materials | 2 | 11.1% | |
| 4 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 1 | 5.6% | |
| 5 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 1 | 5.6% | |
| 6 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 1 | 5.6% | |
| 7 | Lightning | 1 | 5.6% | |
| 8 | Flying brand, ember, spark | 1 | 5.6% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Ashton departments in 2025. These 2 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $60,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 2 | $500 | Fires in structures other than in a building | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Ashton sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 2,328 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 500 | 44.1 mi | |
| 2014 | Recreation and ceremony | 265 | 45.9 mi | |
| 2012 | Debris and open burning | 210 | 38.4 mi | |
| 2014 | Debris and open burning | 200 | 36.3 mi | |
| 2020 | Debris and open burning | 110 | 45.1 mi | |
| 2010 | Debris and open burning | 100 | 9.3 mi | |
| 2004 | Recreation and ceremony | 100 | 48.2 mi | |
| 2003 | Recreation and ceremony | 75 | 39.3 mi | |
| 2010 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 70 | 8.9 mi | |
| 2010 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 60 | 47.1 mi | |
| 2017 | Natural | 60 | 38.0 mi | |
| 2004 | Arson/incendiarism | 60 | 47.8 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 Ashton. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
1 departments report to NFIRS for incidents in Ashton.
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.