In 2025, fire departments serving East Alton responded to 143 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $139K 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 57% of all calls.
Aug peaks. Dec dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
540 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2025. $772K cumulative property loss. 2 civilian deaths.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 68 | — | |
| 2022 | 72 | +5.9% | |
| 2023 | 136 | +88.9% | |
| 2024 | 121 | -11.0% | |
| 2025 | 143 | +18.2% |
For the 25 building fires East Alton departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 137 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 | 49 | 35.8% | |
| 2 | Outside area, other | 18 | 13.1% | |
| 3 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 17 | 12.4% | |
| 4 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 9 | 6.6% | |
| 5 | Bedroom - < 5 persons; included are jail or prison | 8 | 5.8% | |
| 6 | Cooking area, kitchen | 7 | 5.1% | |
| 7 | Other | 4 | 2.9% | |
| 8 | Wildland, woods | 4 | 2.9% | |
| 9 | Common room, den, family room, living room, lounge | 3 | 2.2% | |
| 10 | Bathroom, checkroom, lavatory, locker room | 3 | 2.2% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 15 | 10.9% |
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 East Alton mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 84 | 61.3% | |
| 2 | Hot ember or ash | 9 | 6.6% | |
| 3 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 5 | 3.6% | |
| 4 | Cigarette lighter | 5 | 3.6% | |
| 5 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 4 | 2.9% | |
| 6 | Heat source: other | 3 | 2.2% | |
| 7 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 3 | 2.2% | |
| 8 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 3 | 2.2% | |
| 9 | Flame/torch used for lighting | 3 | 2.2% | |
| 10 | Heat spread from another fire, other | 3 | 2.2% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 15 | 10.9% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by East Alton departments in 2025. These 8 fires alone account for 99% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $139,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 2 | $50,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $35,000 | Fire in mobile home used as fixed residence | Significant | Investigated |
| 4 | $10,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 5 | $10,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 6 | $5,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 7 | $5,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 8 | $2,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. East Alton sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
5 fire-related casualties recorded in NFIRS Module 11 across the 2021–2025 window. Age, gender, and severity are coarse-binned — no individual identification possible.
| Age | Count | |
|---|---|---|
| 0-9 | 0 | |
| 10-19 | 0 | |
| 20-29 | 0 | |
| 30-39 | 0 | |
| 40-49 | 1 | |
| 50-59 | 1 | |
| 60-69 | 0 | |
| 70-79 | 0 | |
| 80+ | 0 |
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 2,732 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 | 22.0 mi | |
| 2006 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 100 | 45.3 mi | |
| 2008 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 80 | 37.4 mi | |
| 2007 | Equipment and vehicle use | 80 | 12.0 mi | |
| 2009 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 80 | 44.4 mi | |
| 2014 | Debris and open burning | 80 | 46.5 mi | |
| 2014 | Debris and open burning | 80 | 48.9 mi | |
| 2008 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 75 | 24.9 mi | |
| 2020 | Debris and open burning | 60 | 49.0 mi | |
| 2009 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 60 | 45.2 mi | |
| 2011 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 50 | 44.4 mi | |
| 2003 | Debris and open burning | 50 | 39.5 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 East Alton. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
1 departments report to NFIRS for incidents in East Alton.
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.