In 2025, fire departments serving Colona responded to 94 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $150K 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 54% of all calls.
Jul peaks. Dec dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
446 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2023. $2.1M cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 90 | — | |
| 2022 | 85 | -5.6% | |
| 2023 | 97 | +14.1% | |
| 2024 | 80 | -17.5% | |
| 2025 | 94 | +17.5% |
For the 15 building fires Colona departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 97 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 | 20 | 20.6% | |
| 2 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 18 | 18.6% | |
| 3 | Vehicle storage area; garage, carport | 6 | 6.2% | |
| 4 | Outside area, other | 6 | 6.2% | |
| 5 | Common room, den, family room, living room, lounge | 4 | 4.1% | |
| 6 | Equipment or service area, other | 4 | 4.1% | |
| 7 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 4 | 4.1% | |
| 8 | Other | 3 | 3.1% | |
| 9 | Bedroom - < 5 persons; included are jail or prison | 3 | 3.1% | |
| 10 | Cooking area, kitchen | 3 | 3.1% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 26 | 26.8% |
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 Colona mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 26 | 26.8% | |
| 2 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 15 | 15.5% | |
| 3 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 10 | 10.3% | |
| 4 | Hot ember or ash | 9 | 9.3% | |
| 5 | Heat, spark from friction | 7 | 7.2% | |
| 6 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 6 | 6.2% | |
| 7 | Arcing | 5 | 5.2% | |
| 8 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 4 | 4.1% | |
| 9 | Heat from other open flame or smoking materials | 4 | 4.1% | |
| 10 | Backfire from internal combustion engine | 2 | 2.1% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 9 | 9.3% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Colona departments in 2025. These 8 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $150,000 | Road freight or transport vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 2 | $100,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $50,000 | Road freight or transport vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 4 | $25,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 5 | $25,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 6 | $15,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 7 | $5,000 | Road freight or transport vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 8 | $2,500 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Colona sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 8,373 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2015 | Debris and open burning | 1,500 | 16.4 mi | |
| 2003 | Recreation and ceremony | 1,200 | 41.5 mi | |
| 2000 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 832 | 41.5 mi | |
| 2003 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 820 | 41.5 mi | |
| 2015 | Debris and open burning | 640 | 15.5 mi | |
| 2003 | Arson/incendiarism | 630 | 41.5 mi | |
| 1996 | Debris and open burning | 333 | 46.1 mi | |
| 2000 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 282 | 41.5 mi | |
| 2014 | Recreation and ceremony | 265 | 35.7 mi | |
| 2000 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 232 | 41.5 mi | |
| 2015 | Debris and open burning | 195 | 10.2 mi | |
| 2000 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 174 | 41.5 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 Colona. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
1 departments report to NFIRS for incidents in Colona.
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.