In 2025, fire departments serving Cortland responded to 29 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $1K 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 93% of all calls.
Nov peaks. Feb dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
147 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2022. $165K cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 29 | — | |
| 2022 | 34 | +17.2% | |
| 2023 | 23 | -32.4% | |
| 2024 | 32 | +39.1% | |
| 2025 | 29 | -9.4% |
For the 0 building fires Cortland departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 31 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 | 7 | 22.6% | |
| 2 | Cooking area, kitchen | 6 | 19.4% | |
| 3 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 4 | 12.9% | |
| 4 | Common room, den, family room, living room, lounge | 3 | 9.7% | |
| 5 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 3 | 9.7% | |
| 6 | Wall surface: exterior | 2 | 6.5% | |
| 7 | Undetermined | 2 | 6.5% | |
| 8 | Other | 1 | 3.2% | |
| 9 | Storage room, area, tank, or bin | 1 | 3.2% | |
| 10 | Chute/container - trash, rubbish, waste | 1 | 3.2% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 1 | 3.2% |
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 Cortland mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 12 | 38.7% | |
| 2 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 5 | 16.1% | |
| 3 | Arcing | 3 | 9.7% | |
| 4 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 3 | 9.7% | |
| 5 | Heat from direct flame, convection currents | 2 | 6.5% | |
| 6 | Heat source: other | 1 | 3.2% | |
| 7 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 1 | 3.2% | |
| 8 | Hot ember or ash | 1 | 3.2% | |
| 9 | Cigarette lighter | 1 | 3.2% | |
| 10 | Heat spread from another fire, other | 1 | 3.2% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 1 | 3.2% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Cortland departments in 2025. These 1 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $1,000 | Forest, woods or wildland fire | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Cortland sits below the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 2,342 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2003 | Natural | 600 | 45.6 mi | |
| 2003 | Debris and open burning | 232 | 46.8 mi | |
| 2012 | Debris and open burning | 210 | 43.6 mi | |
| 2014 | Debris and open burning | 200 | 48.7 mi | |
| 2010 | Debris and open burning | 100 | 26.6 mi | |
| 2012 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 80 | 38.0 mi | |
| 2003 | Recreation and ceremony | 75 | 12.1 mi | |
| 2010 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 70 | 25.6 mi | |
| 2016 | Natural | 67 | 46.5 mi | |
| 2017 | Natural | 60 | 43.6 mi | |
| 2014 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 52 | 38.9 mi | |
| 2008 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 50 | 37.0 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 Cortland. 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.