In 2025, fire departments serving Edwardsville responded to 271 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $525K 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 66% of all calls.
Mar peaks. Apr dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
1,456 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2023. $9.1M cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 236 | — | |
| 2022 | 291 | +23.3% | |
| 2023 | 340 | +16.8% | |
| 2024 | 318 | -6.5% | |
| 2025 | 271 | -14.8% |
For the 27 building fires Edwardsville departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 390 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 | 72 | 18.5% | |
| 2 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 45 | 11.5% | |
| 3 | Outside area, other | 45 | 11.5% | |
| 4 | Cooking area, kitchen | 38 | 9.7% | |
| 5 | Undetermined | 24 | 6.2% | |
| 6 | Highway, parking lot, street: on or near | 22 | 5.6% | |
| 7 | Chute/container - trash, rubbish, waste | 13 | 3.3% | |
| 8 | Wildland, woods | 10 | 2.6% | |
| 9 | Chimney (conversion only) | 9 | 2.3% | |
| 10 | Vehicle area, other | 9 | 2.3% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 103 | 26.4% |
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 Edwardsville mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 185 | 47.4% | |
| 2 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 35 | 9.0% | |
| 3 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 26 | 6.7% | |
| 4 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 22 | 5.6% | |
| 5 | Hot ember or ash | 21 | 5.4% | |
| 6 | Arcing | 18 | 4.6% | |
| 7 | Cigarette lighter | 12 | 3.1% | |
| 8 | Heat source: other | 11 | 2.8% | |
| 9 | Heat from direct flame, convection currents | 9 | 2.3% | |
| 10 | Match | 8 | 2.1% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 43 | 11.0% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Edwardsville departments in 2025. These 8 fires alone account for 95% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $525,400 | Building fires | Major | Investigated |
| 2 | $320,000 | Building fires | Major | Investigated |
| 3 | $80,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 4 | $50,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 5 | $20,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 6 | $20,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 7 | $20,000 | Mobile property (vehicle) fire, other | Significant | Investigated |
| 8 | $15,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Edwardsville sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 2,997 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 | 30.5 mi | |
| 2005 | Natural | 225 | 46.1 mi | |
| 2002 | Natural | 150 | 46.5 mi | |
| 2008 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 80 | 33.5 mi | |
| 2013 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 80 | 43.0 mi | |
| 2007 | Equipment and vehicle use | 80 | 20.7 mi | |
| 2009 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 80 | 40.0 mi | |
| 2014 | Debris and open burning | 80 | 42.7 mi | |
| 2014 | Debris and open burning | 80 | 46.1 mi | |
| 2008 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 75 | 28.2 mi | |
| 2020 | Debris and open burning | 60 | 43.8 mi | |
| 2009 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 60 | 39.7 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 Edwardsville. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
2 departments report to NFIRS for incidents in Edwardsville.
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.