In 2025, fire departments serving Dupo responded to 117 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $150K building blaze. Here's the full picture.
Outside rubbish fire, other lead by count. Building fires lead by dollars. Together the top five categories make up about 62% of all calls.
Sep peaks. Feb dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
524 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2022. $602K cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 74 | — | |
| 2022 | 132 | +78.4% | |
| 2023 | 107 | -18.9% | |
| 2024 | 94 | -12.1% | |
| 2025 | 117 | +24.5% |
For the 19 building fires Dupo departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 120 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 | 46 | 38.3% | |
| 2 | Outside area, other | 23 | 19.2% | |
| 3 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 13 | 10.8% | |
| 4 | Operator/passenger area of transportation equip. | 5 | 4.2% | |
| 5 | Exterior balcony, unenclosed porch | 3 | 2.5% | |
| 6 | Wall assembly | 3 | 2.5% | |
| 7 | Highway, parking lot, street: on or near | 3 | 2.5% | |
| 8 | Chute/container - trash, rubbish, waste | 2 | 1.7% | |
| 9 | Vehicle storage area; garage, carport | 2 | 1.7% | |
| 10 | Attic: vacant, crawl space above top story, cupola | 2 | 1.7% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 18 | 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 Dupo mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 84 | 70.0% | |
| 2 | Heat source: other | 8 | 6.7% | |
| 3 | Arcing | 4 | 3.3% | |
| 4 | Hot ember or ash | 4 | 3.3% | |
| 5 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 3 | 2.5% | |
| 6 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 3 | 2.5% | |
| 7 | Heat, spark from friction | 3 | 2.5% | |
| 8 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 2 | 1.7% | |
| 9 | Lightning | 2 | 1.7% | |
| 10 | Heat spread from another fire, other | 2 | 1.7% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 5 | 4.2% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Dupo departments in 2025. These 5 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $150,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 2 | $120,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $40,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 4 | $28,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 5 | $10,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Dupo sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 3,979 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2011 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 1,475 | 36.6 mi | |
| 1999 | Debris and open burning | 360 | 40.6 mi | |
| 1997 | Debris and open burning | 270 | 36.6 mi | |
| 2005 | Natural | 225 | 24.1 mi | |
| 1995 | Debris and open burning | 150 | 47.7 mi | |
| 2002 | Natural | 150 | 24.5 mi | |
| 2014 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 150 | 37.9 mi | |
| 1997 | Smoking | 135 | 44.2 mi | |
| 1999 | Arson/incendiarism | 120 | 47.6 mi | |
| 1994 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 104 | 46.7 mi | |
| 2008 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 80 | 11.2 mi | |
| 2007 | Equipment and vehicle use | 80 | 36.6 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 Dupo. 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.