In 2025, fire departments serving Colchester responded to 35 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $250K building blaze. Here's the full picture.
Fire, other lead by count. Building fires lead by dollars. Together the top five categories make up about 91% of all calls.
Mar peaks. Jun dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
129 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2025. $1.2M cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 24 | — | |
| 2022 | 22 | -8.3% | |
| 2023 | 30 | +36.4% | |
| 2024 | 18 | -40.0% | |
| 2025 | 35 | +94.4% |
For the 1 building fires Colchester departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 59 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 | Other | 22 | 37.3% | |
| 2 | Outside area, other | 17 | 28.8% | |
| 3 | Vehicle area, other | 6 | 10.2% | |
| 4 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 5 | 8.5% | |
| 5 | Equipment or service area, other | 2 | 3.4% | |
| 6 | Common room, den, family room, living room, lounge | 1 | 1.7% | |
| 7 | Bedroom - < 5 persons; included are jail or prison | 1 | 1.7% | |
| 8 | Cooking area, kitchen | 1 | 1.7% | |
| 9 | Bathroom, checkroom, lavatory, locker room | 1 | 1.7% | |
| 10 | Laundry area, wash house (laundry) | 1 | 1.7% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 2 | 3.4% |
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 Colchester mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Heat source: other | 28 | 47.5% | |
| 2 | Flying brand, ember, spark | 12 | 20.3% | |
| 3 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 6 | 10.2% | |
| 4 | Undetermined | 3 | 5.1% | |
| 5 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 2 | 3.4% | |
| 6 | Hot ember or ash | 2 | 3.4% | |
| 7 | Cigarette | 2 | 3.4% | |
| 8 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 1 | 1.7% | |
| 9 | Arcing | 1 | 1.7% | |
| 10 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 1 | 1.7% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 1 | 1.7% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Colchester departments in 2025. These 5 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $250,000 | Fire, other | Major | Investigated |
| 2 | $115,000 | Fire, other | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $100,000 | Fire, other | Significant | Investigated |
| 4 | $50,000 | Fire, other | Significant | Investigated |
| 5 | $5,000 | Fire, other | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Colchester sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 2,285 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 | 48.7 mi | |
| 1999 | Debris and open burning | 280 | 42.7 mi | |
| 1999 | Debris and open burning | 250 | 36.1 mi | |
| 2018 | Debris and open burning | 180 | 37.5 mi | |
| 2018 | Debris and open burning | 108 | 36.3 mi | |
| 1994 | Debris and open burning | 100 | 46.4 mi | |
| 2018 | Debris and open burning | 100 | 37.0 mi | |
| 2016 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 80 | 48.6 mi | |
| 2018 | Debris and open burning | 70 | 43.1 mi | |
| 2006 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 70 | 48.4 mi | |
| 1996 | Debris and open burning | 65 | 44.9 mi | |
| 2020 | Debris and open burning | 60 | 33.3 mi |
Top 3 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 Colchester. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
1 departments report to NFIRS for incidents in Colchester.
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.