In 2025, fire departments serving Dix responded to 40 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $80K 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 78% of all calls.
Mar peaks. Feb dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
180 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2023. $1.4M cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 26 | — | |
| 2022 | 32 | +23.1% | |
| 2023 | 41 | +28.1% | |
| 2024 | 41 | +0.0% | |
| 2025 | 40 | -2.4% |
For the 14 building fires Dix departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 69 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 | 47 | 68.1% | |
| 2 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 8 | 11.6% | |
| 3 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 5 | 7.2% | |
| 4 | Cooking area, kitchen | 2 | 2.9% | |
| 5 | Wall surface: exterior | 2 | 2.9% | |
| 6 | Wildland, woods | 2 | 2.9% | |
| 7 | Other | 1 | 1.4% | |
| 8 | Operator/passenger area of transportation equip. | 1 | 1.4% | |
| 9 | Outside area, other | 1 | 1.4% |
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 Dix mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 52 | 75.4% | |
| 2 | Heat spread from another fire, other | 5 | 7.2% | |
| 3 | Hot ember or ash | 4 | 5.8% | |
| 4 | Heat, spark from friction | 2 | 2.9% | |
| 5 | Heat source: other | 1 | 1.4% | |
| 6 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 1 | 1.4% | |
| 7 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 1 | 1.4% | |
| 8 | Heat from other open flame or smoking materials | 1 | 1.4% | |
| 9 | Candle | 1 | 1.4% | |
| 10 | Conducted heat from another fire | 1 | 1.4% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Dix departments in 2025. These 3 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $80,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 2 | $50,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $1,500 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Dix sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 2,552 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2009 | Equipment and vehicle use | 1,000 | 45.1 mi | |
| 2007 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 225 | 30.8 mi | |
| 2009 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 160 | 45.2 mi | |
| 2005 | Debris and open burning | 160 | 34.5 mi | |
| 2004 | Debris and open burning | 150 | 33.3 mi | |
| 2019 | Debris and open burning | 97 | 44.3 mi | |
| 2013 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 80 | 19.9 mi | |
| 2009 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 80 | 43.5 mi | |
| 2014 | Debris and open burning | 80 | 46.3 mi | |
| 2011 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 70 | 37.9 mi | |
| 2010 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 60 | 46.2 mi | |
| 2009 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 60 | 37.7 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 Dix. 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.