In 2025, fire departments serving Batavia responded to 219 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $25K 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 65% of all calls.
Jun peaks. Mar dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
962 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2025. $1.9M cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 171 | — | |
| 2022 | 178 | +4.1% | |
| 2023 | 195 | +9.6% | |
| 2024 | 199 | +2.1% | |
| 2025 | 219 | +10.1% |
For the 16 building fires Batavia departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 153 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 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 17 | 11.1% | |
| 2 | Outside area, other | 15 | 9.8% | |
| 3 | Undetermined | 14 | 9.2% | |
| 4 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 11 | 7.2% | |
| 5 | Vehicle storage area; garage, carport | 10 | 6.5% | |
| 6 | Other | 8 | 5.2% | |
| 7 | Cooking area, kitchen | 8 | 5.2% | |
| 8 | Courtyard, patio, porch, terrace | 6 | 3.9% | |
| 9 | Wall surface: exterior | 5 | 3.3% | |
| 10 | Wildland, woods | 5 | 3.3% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 54 | 35.3% |
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 Batavia mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 58 | 37.9% | |
| 2 | Arcing | 16 | 10.5% | |
| 3 | Hot ember or ash | 10 | 6.5% | |
| 4 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 8 | 5.2% | |
| 5 | Flame/torch used for lighting | 7 | 4.6% | |
| 6 | Heat source: other | 6 | 3.9% | |
| 7 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 6 | 3.9% | |
| 8 | Chemical reaction | 6 | 3.9% | |
| 9 | Cigarette | 5 | 3.3% | |
| 10 | Radiated heat from another fire | 5 | 3.3% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 26 | 17.0% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Batavia departments in 2025. These 8 fires alone account for 97% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $25,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 2 | $25,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $20,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 4 | $10,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 5 | $7,000 | Fires in structures other than in a building | Significant | Investigated |
| 6 | $5,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 7 | $5,000 | Arcing, shorted electrical equipment | Significant | Investigated |
| 8 | $1,500 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Batavia sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 3,628 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2015 | Misuse of fire by a minor | 750 | 46.1 mi | |
| 2003 | Natural | 600 | 35.2 mi | |
| 2003 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 450 | 45.4 mi | |
| 2003 | Debris and open burning | 232 | 34.2 mi | |
| 2012 | Debris and open burning | 210 | 49.8 mi | |
| 2011 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 160 | 48.7 mi | |
| 2009 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 150 | 42.6 mi | |
| 2010 | Debris and open burning | 100 | 46.2 mi | |
| 2009 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 100 | 43.6 mi | |
| 2012 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 80 | 35.5 mi | |
| 2003 | Recreation and ceremony | 75 | 15.6 mi | |
| 2010 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 70 | 45.3 mi |
Top 6 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 Batavia. 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.