In 2025, fire departments serving Dunlap responded to 32 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $60K building blaze. Here's the full picture.
Grass fire lead by count. Building fires lead by dollars. Together the top five categories make up about 66% of all calls.
Sep peaks. Jun dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
195 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2024. $1.3M cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 39 | — | |
| 2022 | 43 | +10.3% | |
| 2023 | 36 | -16.3% | |
| 2024 | 45 | +25.0% | |
| 2025 | 32 | -28.9% |
For the 1 building fires Dunlap departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 40 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 | 9 | 22.5% | |
| 2 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 6 | 15.0% | |
| 3 | Cooking area, kitchen | 5 | 12.5% | |
| 4 | Other | 4 | 10.0% | |
| 5 | Outside area, other | 3 | 7.5% | |
| 6 | Cargo/trunk area - all vehicles | 2 | 5.0% | |
| 7 | Courtyard, patio, porch, terrace | 2 | 5.0% | |
| 8 | Bedroom - < 5 persons; included are jail or prison | 1 | 2.5% | |
| 9 | Bathroom, checkroom, lavatory, locker room | 1 | 2.5% | |
| 10 | Storage area, other | 1 | 2.5% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 6 | 15.0% |
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 Dunlap mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 14 | 35.0% | |
| 2 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 5 | 12.5% | |
| 3 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 4 | 10.0% | |
| 4 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 4 | 10.0% | |
| 5 | Heat source: other | 3 | 7.5% | |
| 6 | Arcing | 3 | 7.5% | |
| 7 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 2 | 5.0% | |
| 8 | Cigarette | 2 | 5.0% | |
| 9 | Hot ember or ash | 1 | 2.5% | |
| 10 | Heat from other open flame or smoking materials | 1 | 2.5% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 1 | 2.5% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Dunlap departments in 2025. These 1 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $60,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Dunlap sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 2,091 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2012 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 375 | 33.6 mi | |
| 1999 | Debris and open burning | 250 | 42.6 mi | |
| 2012 | Debris and open burning | 210 | 49.0 mi | |
| 2018 | Debris and open burning | 200 | 7.8 mi | |
| 2014 | Debris and open burning | 200 | 41.8 mi | |
| 2020 | Debris and open burning | 110 | 40.0 mi | |
| 2014 | Debris and open burning | 60 | 26.2 mi | |
| 2010 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 60 | 35.2 mi | |
| 2017 | Natural | 60 | 48.8 mi | |
| 2014 | Debris and open burning | 51 | 28.5 mi | |
| 2014 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 50 | 49.4 mi | |
| 2010 | Debris and open burning | 50 | 49.1 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 Dunlap. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
1 departments report to NFIRS for incidents in Dunlap.
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.