In 2025, fire departments serving Chillicothe responded to 96 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $201K building blaze. Here's the full picture.
Unauthorized burning lead by count. Building fires lead by dollars. Together the top five categories make up about 73% of all calls.
Mar peaks. Dec dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
538 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2024. $4.1M cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 111 | — | |
| 2022 | 97 | -12.6% | |
| 2023 | 116 | +19.6% | |
| 2024 | 118 | +1.7% | |
| 2025 | 96 | -18.6% |
For the 6 building fires Chillicothe departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 140 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 | Outside area, other | 49 | 35.0% | |
| 2 | Undetermined | 25 | 17.9% | |
| 3 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 12 | 8.6% | |
| 4 | Other | 11 | 7.9% | |
| 5 | Storage area, other | 5 | 3.6% | |
| 6 | Vehicle storage area; garage, carport | 5 | 3.6% | |
| 7 | Cooking area, kitchen | 4 | 2.9% | |
| 8 | Cargo/trunk area - all vehicles | 4 | 2.9% | |
| 9 | Common room, den, family room, living room, lounge | 3 | 2.1% | |
| 10 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 3 | 2.1% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 19 | 13.6% |
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 Chillicothe mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 68 | 48.6% | |
| 2 | Heat source: other | 17 | 12.1% | |
| 3 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 11 | 7.9% | |
| 4 | Match | 8 | 5.7% | |
| 5 | Arcing | 6 | 4.3% | |
| 6 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 5 | 3.6% | |
| 7 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 5 | 3.6% | |
| 8 | Hot ember or ash | 5 | 3.6% | |
| 9 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 3 | 2.1% | |
| 10 | Heat from other open flame or smoking materials | 3 | 2.1% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 9 | 6.4% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Chillicothe departments in 2025. These 5 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $200,800 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 2 | $50,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $10,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 4 | $5,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 5 | $700 | Road freight or transport vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Chillicothe sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 1,879 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 | 41.4 mi | |
| 2012 | Debris and open burning | 210 | 39.5 mi | |
| 2018 | Debris and open burning | 200 | 17.8 mi | |
| 2014 | Debris and open burning | 200 | 33.2 mi | |
| 2020 | Debris and open burning | 110 | 30.3 mi | |
| 2014 | Debris and open burning | 60 | 16.3 mi | |
| 2010 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 60 | 25.6 mi | |
| 2017 | Natural | 60 | 39.3 mi | |
| 2014 | Debris and open burning | 51 | 18.7 mi | |
| 2014 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 50 | 48.5 mi | |
| 2010 | Debris and open burning | 50 | 42.6 mi | |
| 2018 | Debris and open burning | 45 | 17.9 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 Chillicothe. 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.