In 2025, fire departments serving Downs responded to 25 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $15K building blaze. Here's the full picture.
Passenger vehicle fire lead by count. Building fires lead by dollars. Together the top five categories make up about 68% of all calls.
Mar peaks. Jan dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
77 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2025. $148K cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 22 | — | |
| 2022* | 7 | — | |
| 2023 | 15 | — | |
| 2024* | 8 | — | |
| 2025 | 25 | — |
* Well below Downs's usual volume. That almost always means one or more departments didn't submit a full year to NFIRS, not that fires dropped, so no year-over-year change is shown for it.
For the 1 building fires Downs departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 30 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 | 7 | 23.3% | |
| 2 | Undetermined | 7 | 23.3% | |
| 3 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 4 | 13.3% | |
| 4 | Highway, parking lot, street: on or near | 3 | 10.0% | |
| 5 | Other | 2 | 6.7% | |
| 6 | Laundry area, wash house (laundry) | 1 | 3.3% | |
| 7 | Switchgear area, transformer vault | 1 | 3.3% | |
| 8 | Exterior balcony, unenclosed porch | 1 | 3.3% | |
| 9 | Wall surface: exterior | 1 | 3.3% | |
| 10 | Vehicle area, other | 1 | 3.3% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 2 | 6.7% |
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 Downs mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 19 | 63.3% | |
| 2 | Flying brand, ember, spark | 4 | 13.3% | |
| 3 | Hot ember or ash | 2 | 6.7% | |
| 4 | Heat source: other | 1 | 3.3% | |
| 5 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 1 | 3.3% | |
| 6 | Cigarette | 1 | 3.3% | |
| 7 | Heat from undetermined smoking material | 1 | 3.3% | |
| 8 | Heat from direct flame, convection currents | 1 | 3.3% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Downs departments in 2025. These 6 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $15,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 2 | $12,500 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $10,000 | Road freight or transport vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 4 | $5,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 5 | $3,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 6 | $2,500 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Downs sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 1,081 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2018 | Equipment and vehicle use | 80 | 31.3 mi | |
| 2010 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 75 | 48.9 mi | |
| 2010 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 75 | 31.7 mi | |
| 2014 | Debris and open burning | 60 | 43.7 mi | |
| 2014 | Debris and open burning | 51 | 41.8 mi | |
| 2014 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 50 | 12.6 mi | |
| 2007 | Equipment and vehicle use | 50 | 42.1 mi | |
| 2010 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 50 | 33.6 mi | |
| 2010 | Debris and open burning | 50 | 17.5 mi | |
| 2014 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 50 | 38.1 mi | |
| 2018 | Debris and open burning | 45 | 44.3 mi | |
| 2012 | Equipment and vehicle use | 40 | 31.5 mi |
Top 2 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 Downs. 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.