In 2025, fire departments serving Dixon responded to 281 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $643K 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 63% of all calls.
Mar peaks. Jul dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
1,120 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2025. $3.0M cumulative property loss. 2 civilian deaths.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 211 | — | |
| 2022 | 191 | -9.5% | |
| 2023 | 270 | +41.4% | |
| 2024 | 167 | -38.1% | |
| 2025 | 281 | +68.3% |
For the 67 building fires Dixon departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 233 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 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 44 | 18.9% | |
| 2 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 30 | 12.9% | |
| 3 | Undetermined | 29 | 12.4% | |
| 4 | Outside area, other | 20 | 8.6% | |
| 5 | Cooking area, kitchen | 13 | 5.6% | |
| 6 | Other | 10 | 4.3% | |
| 7 | Wall surface: exterior | 7 | 3.0% | |
| 8 | Vehicle area, other | 7 | 3.0% | |
| 9 | Wildland, woods | 7 | 3.0% | |
| 10 | Chute/container - trash, rubbish, waste | 5 | 2.1% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 61 | 26.2% |
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 Dixon mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 93 | 39.9% | |
| 2 | Hot ember or ash | 18 | 7.7% | |
| 3 | Arcing | 15 | 6.4% | |
| 4 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 14 | 6.0% | |
| 5 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 13 | 5.6% | |
| 6 | Flying brand, ember, spark | 13 | 5.6% | |
| 7 | Heat source: other | 10 | 4.3% | |
| 8 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 8 | 3.4% | |
| 9 | Cigarette lighter | 8 | 3.4% | |
| 10 | Heat from other open flame or smoking materials | 7 | 3.0% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 34 | 14.6% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Dixon departments in 2025. These 8 fires alone account for 93% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $642,800 | Building fires | Major | Investigated |
| 2 | $100,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $70,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 4 | $25,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 5 | $20,000 | Outside storage fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 6 | $20,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 7 | $20,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 8 | $18,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Dixon sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 2,483 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 500 | 46.2 mi | |
| 2014 | Recreation and ceremony | 265 | 33.2 mi | |
| 2012 | Debris and open burning | 210 | 43.0 mi | |
| 2014 | Debris and open burning | 200 | 37.4 mi | |
| 2015 | Debris and open burning | 195 | 41.6 mi | |
| 2020 | Debris and open burning | 110 | 47.4 mi | |
| 2010 | Debris and open burning | 100 | 18.5 mi | |
| 2004 | Recreation and ceremony | 100 | 43.6 mi | |
| 2010 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 70 | 18.9 mi | |
| 2010 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 60 | 48.2 mi | |
| 2017 | Natural | 60 | 42.5 mi | |
| 2004 | Arson/incendiarism | 60 | 42.2 mi |
Top 5 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 Dixon. 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.