In 2025, fire departments serving Beardstown responded to 91 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $80K 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 53% of all calls.
Mar peaks. Jun dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
361 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2025. $2.0M cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 60 | — | |
| 2022 | 70 | +16.7% | |
| 2023 | 64 | -8.6% | |
| 2024 | 76 | +18.8% | |
| 2025 | 91 | +19.7% |
For the 15 building fires Beardstown departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 110 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 | 21 | 19.1% | |
| 2 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 10 | 9.1% | |
| 3 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 9 | 8.2% | |
| 4 | Vehicle area, other | 8 | 7.3% | |
| 5 | Cooking area, kitchen | 5 | 4.5% | |
| 6 | Exterior, exposed surface | 5 | 4.5% | |
| 7 | Laundry area, wash house (laundry) | 4 | 3.6% | |
| 8 | Vehicle storage area; garage, carport | 4 | 3.6% | |
| 9 | Highway, parking lot, street: on or near | 4 | 3.6% | |
| 10 | Storage area, other | 3 | 2.7% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 37 | 33.6% |
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 Beardstown mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 63 | 57.3% | |
| 2 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 10 | 9.1% | |
| 3 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 7 | 6.4% | |
| 4 | Heat source: other | 5 | 4.5% | |
| 5 | Heat spread from another fire, other | 4 | 3.6% | |
| 6 | Arcing | 3 | 2.7% | |
| 7 | Heat, spark from friction | 3 | 2.7% | |
| 8 | Hot ember or ash | 3 | 2.7% | |
| 9 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 2 | 1.8% | |
| 10 | Cigarette lighter | 2 | 1.8% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 8 | 7.3% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Beardstown departments in 2025. These 8 fires alone account for 81% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $80,000 | Vehicle accident, general cleanup | Significant | Investigated |
| 2 | $20,000 | Vehicle accident, general cleanup | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $20,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 4 | $20,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 5 | $10,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 6 | $10,000 | Dumpster or other outside trash receptacle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 7 | $10,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 8 | $10,000 | Vehicle accident, general cleanup | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Beardstown sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
6 fire-related casualties recorded in NFIRS Module 11 across the 2021–2025 window. Age, gender, and severity are coarse-binned — no individual identification possible.
| Age | Count | |
|---|---|---|
| 0-9 | 0 | |
| 10-19 | 0 | |
| 20-29 | 2 | |
| 30-39 | 1 | |
| 40-49 | 1 | |
| 50-59 | 1 | |
| 60-69 | 1 | |
| 70-79 | 0 | |
| 80+ | 0 |
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 1,834 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 | 375 | 39.4 mi | |
| 1999 | Debris and open burning | 250 | 28.0 mi | |
| 2015 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 210 | 46.2 mi | |
| 2014 | Debris and open burning | 140 | 40.8 mi | |
| 2014 | Debris and open burning | 96 | 44.7 mi | |
| 2010 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 75 | 42.7 mi | |
| 2011 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 60 | 20.3 mi | |
| 2011 | Equipment and vehicle use | 55 | 21.1 mi | |
| 2009 | Equipment and vehicle use | 50 | 28.5 mi | |
| 2011 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 50 | 34.8 mi | |
| 2010 | Debris and open burning | 50 | 44.3 mi | |
| 2009 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 45 | 31.0 mi |
Top 5 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 Beardstown. 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.