In 2025, fire departments serving Columbia responded to 113 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $200K building blaze. Here's the full picture.
Gas leak (natural gas or LPG) lead by count. Building fires lead by dollars. Together the top five categories make up about 55% of all calls.
Mar peaks. Jun dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
587 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2022. $3.7M cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 108 | — | |
| 2022 | 129 | +19.4% | |
| 2023 | 128 | -0.8% | |
| 2024 | 109 | -14.8% | |
| 2025 | 113 | +3.7% |
For the 12 building fires Columbia 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 | 43 | 33.9% | |
| 2 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 20 | 15.7% | |
| 3 | Outside area, other | 11 | 8.7% | |
| 4 | Other | 6 | 4.7% | |
| 5 | Storage area, other | 6 | 4.7% | |
| 6 | Cooking area, kitchen | 5 | 3.9% | |
| 7 | Vehicle storage area; garage, carport | 5 | 3.9% | |
| 8 | Operator/passenger area of transportation equip. | 4 | 3.1% | |
| 9 | Wildland, woods | 4 | 3.1% | |
| 10 | Highway, parking lot, street: on or near | 3 | 2.4% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 20 | 15.7% |
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 Columbia mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 79 | 62.2% | |
| 2 | Hot ember or ash | 12 | 9.4% | |
| 3 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 9 | 7.1% | |
| 4 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 4 | 3.1% | |
| 5 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 4 | 3.1% | |
| 6 | Heat spread from another fire, other | 4 | 3.1% | |
| 7 | Heat source: other | 2 | 1.6% | |
| 8 | Arcing | 2 | 1.6% | |
| 9 | Heat from direct flame, convection currents | 2 | 1.6% | |
| 10 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 1 | 0.8% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 8 | 6.3% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Columbia departments in 2025. These 8 fires alone account for 87% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $200,000 | Road freight or transport vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 2 | $75,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $50,000 | Camper or recreational vehicle (RV) fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 4 | $25,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 5 | $25,000 | Mobile property (vehicle) fire, other | Significant | Investigated |
| 6 | $25,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 7 | $20,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 8 | $20,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Columbia sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 4,170 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2011 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 1,475 | 40.3 mi | |
| 1999 | Debris and open burning | 360 | 39.3 mi | |
| 1997 | Debris and open burning | 270 | 33.8 mi | |
| 2005 | Natural | 225 | 20.3 mi | |
| 1995 | Debris and open burning | 150 | 44.9 mi | |
| 2002 | Natural | 150 | 20.7 mi | |
| 2014 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 150 | 34.5 mi | |
| 1997 | Smoking | 135 | 41.0 mi | |
| 1995 | Debris and open burning | 130 | 49.2 mi | |
| 1999 | Arson/incendiarism | 120 | 44.8 mi | |
| 2010 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 107 | 49.9 mi | |
| 1994 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 104 | 44.1 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 Columbia. 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.