In 2025, fire departments serving Chatham responded to 64 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $500K 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 69% of all calls.
Mar peaks. Jul dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
355 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2023. $2.2M cumulative property loss. 1 civilian deaths.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 59 | — | |
| 2022 | 89 | +50.8% | |
| 2023 | 91 | +2.2% | |
| 2024 | 52 | -42.9% | |
| 2025 | 64 | +23.1% |
For the 23 building fires Chatham departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 127 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 | 26 | 20.5% | |
| 2 | Other | 19 | 15.0% | |
| 3 | Outside area, other | 12 | 9.4% | |
| 4 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 10 | 7.9% | |
| 5 | Vehicle storage area; garage, carport | 8 | 6.3% | |
| 6 | Cooking area, kitchen | 6 | 4.7% | |
| 7 | Bedroom - < 5 persons; included are jail or prison | 5 | 3.9% | |
| 8 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 5 | 3.9% | |
| 9 | Service facilities, other | 3 | 2.4% | |
| 10 | Conduit, pipe, utility, or ventilation shaft | 3 | 2.4% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 30 | 23.6% |
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 Chatham mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 58 | 45.7% | |
| 2 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 12 | 9.4% | |
| 3 | Arcing | 10 | 7.9% | |
| 4 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 9 | 7.1% | |
| 5 | Heat source: other | 7 | 5.5% | |
| 6 | Hot ember or ash | 6 | 4.7% | |
| 7 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 3 | 2.4% | |
| 8 | Match | 3 | 2.4% | |
| 9 | Cigarette lighter | 3 | 2.4% | |
| 10 | Heat from other open flame or smoking materials | 2 | 1.6% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 14 | 11.0% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Chatham departments in 2025. These 8 fires alone account for 99% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $500,000 | Building fires | Major | Investigated |
| 2 | $300,000 | Building fires | Major | Investigated |
| 3 | $200,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 4 | $50,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 5 | $50,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 6 | $25,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 7 | $15,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 8 | $10,000 | Gasoline or other flammable liquid spill | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Chatham sits below the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 1,330 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 | 12.9 mi | |
| 2009 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 160 | 38.2 mi | |
| 2014 | Debris and open burning | 80 | 47.9 mi | |
| 2014 | Debris and open burning | 80 | 42.6 mi | |
| 2018 | Equipment and vehicle use | 80 | 36.3 mi | |
| 2008 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 75 | 34.7 mi | |
| 2010 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 75 | 20.1 mi | |
| 2011 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 60 | 27.4 mi | |
| 2011 | Equipment and vehicle use | 55 | 24.7 mi | |
| 2011 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 50 | 29.6 mi | |
| 2003 | Debris and open burning | 50 | 36.8 mi | |
| 2010 | Debris and open burning | 50 | 15.4 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 | 62629 | 355 |
Six Illinois cities with population within ±25% of Chatham. 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.