In 2025, fire departments serving Cerro Gordo responded to 23 fire and hazmat incidents . 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 83% of all calls.
Mar peaks. Jan dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
110 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2022. $103K cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 15 | — | |
| 2022 | 36 | +140.0% | |
| 2023 | 18 | -50.0% | |
| 2024 | 18 | +0.0% | |
| 2025 | 23 | +27.8% |
For the 1 building fires Cerro Gordo 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 | Vehicle storage area; garage, carport | 2 | 22.2% | |
| 2 | Undetermined | 2 | 22.2% | |
| 3 | Other | 1 | 11.1% | |
| 4 | Function area, other | 1 | 11.1% | |
| 5 | Records storage room, storage vault | 1 | 11.1% | |
| 6 | Structural area, other | 1 | 11.1% | |
| 7 | Vehicle area, other | 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 Cerro Gordo mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 4 | 44.4% | |
| 2 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 2 | 22.2% | |
| 3 | Heat source: other | 1 | 11.1% | |
| 4 | Flame/torch used for lighting | 1 | 11.1% | |
| 5 | Heat spread from another fire, other | 1 | 11.1% |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Cerro Gordo sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 1,186 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 | 40.3 mi | |
| 2009 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 160 | 41.3 mi | |
| 2013 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 100 | 33.5 mi | |
| 2018 | Equipment and vehicle use | 80 | 38.0 mi | |
| 2010 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 75 | 46.8 mi | |
| 2014 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 60 | 42.2 mi | |
| 2010 | Debris and open burning | 50 | 45.7 mi | |
| 2014 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 50 | 33.3 mi | |
| 2007 | Equipment and vehicle use | 50 | 29.7 mi | |
| 2014 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 50 | 41.6 mi | |
| 2015 | Debris and open burning | 40 | 28.3 mi | |
| 2007 | Equipment and vehicle use | 35 | 29.7 mi |
Top 4 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 Cerro Gordo. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
1 departments report to NFIRS for incidents in Cerro Gordo.
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.