In 2025, fire departments serving Chapin responded to 10 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $250K building blaze. Here's the full picture.
Off-road vehicle or heavy equipment fire lead by count. Building fires lead by dollars. Together the top five categories make up about 70% of all calls.
Mar peaks. Feb dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
39 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2022. $779K cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 5 | — | |
| 2022 | 10 | +100.0% | |
| 2023 | 7 | -30.0% | |
| 2024 | 7 | +0.0% | |
| 2025 | 10 | +42.9% |
For the 1 building fires Chapin departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 14 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 | 4 | 28.6% | |
| 2 | Cooking area, kitchen | 2 | 14.3% | |
| 3 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 2 | 14.3% | |
| 4 | Other | 1 | 7.1% | |
| 5 | Office | 1 | 7.1% | |
| 6 | Vehicle storage area; garage, carport | 1 | 7.1% | |
| 7 | Vehicle area, other | 1 | 7.1% | |
| 8 | Operator/passenger area of transportation equip. | 1 | 7.1% | |
| 9 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 1 | 7.1% |
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 Chapin mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 11 | 78.6% | |
| 2 | Heat source: other | 2 | 14.3% | |
| 3 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 1 | 7.1% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Chapin departments in 2025. These 1 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $250,000 | Off-road vehicle or heavy equipment fire | Major | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Chapin sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 4,166 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1992 | Debris and open burning | 1,050 | 44.9 mi | |
| 1999 | Arson/incendiarism | 835 | 44.9 mi | |
| 1999 | Debris and open burning | 250 | 41.9 mi | |
| 2015 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 210 | 42.6 mi | |
| 1999 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 200 | 44.9 mi | |
| 2012 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 200 | 49.4 mi | |
| 1999 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 150 | 44.9 mi | |
| 1994 | Arson/incendiarism | 140 | 44.3 mi | |
| 2014 | Debris and open burning | 140 | 28.7 mi | |
| 2006 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 100 | 39.2 mi | |
| 2006 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 100 | 49.4 mi | |
| 2014 | Debris and open burning | 96 | 31.7 mi |
Top 1 ZIP codes by NFIRS incident count across 2021–2025. Each ZIP has its own fire profile — dive in for neighborhood-level context.
| # | ZIP | 5-yr incidents | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 62628 | 39 |
Six Illinois cities with population within ±25% of Chapin. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
1 departments report to NFIRS for incidents in Chapin.
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.