In 2025, fire departments serving Edwardsville responded to 32 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $100K 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 63% of all calls.
Mar peaks. Sep dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
239 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2023. $522K cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 56 | — | |
| 2022 | 33 | -41.1% | |
| 2023 | 67 | +103.0% | |
| 2024 | 51 | -23.9% | |
| 2025 | 32 | -37.3% |
For the 4 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 81 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 | Outside area, other | 16 | 19.8% | |
| 2 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 11 | 13.6% | |
| 3 | Wildland, woods | 9 | 11.1% | |
| 4 | Undetermined | 9 | 11.1% | |
| 5 | Vehicle area, other | 6 | 7.4% | |
| 6 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 4 | 4.9% | |
| 7 | Highway, parking lot, street: on or near | 4 | 4.9% | |
| 8 | Bedroom - < 5 persons; included are jail or prison | 3 | 3.7% | |
| 9 | Operator/passenger area of transportation equip. | 3 | 3.7% | |
| 10 | Other | 2 | 2.5% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 14 | 17.3% |
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 | 26 | 32.1% | |
| 2 | Hot ember or ash | 12 | 14.8% | |
| 3 | Cigarette lighter | 7 | 8.6% | |
| 4 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 5 | 6.2% | |
| 5 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 5 | 6.2% | |
| 6 | Heat source: other | 3 | 3.7% | |
| 7 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 3 | 3.7% | |
| 8 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 3 | 3.7% | |
| 9 | Arcing | 3 | 3.7% | |
| 10 | Heat, spark from friction | 2 | 2.5% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 12 | 14.8% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Edwardsville departments in 2025. These 4 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $100,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 2 | $25,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $10,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 4 | $200 | Grass fire | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Edwardsville sits below the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 11,504 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2009 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 900 | 25.3 mi | |
| 2009 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 800 | 19.9 mi | |
| 2012 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 800 | 22.1 mi | |
| 2007 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 800 | 6.2 mi | |
| 2018 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 750 | 18.6 mi | |
| 2018 | Arson/incendiarism | 667 | 31.6 mi | |
| 1999 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 500 | 38.7 mi | |
| 2015 | Debris and open burning | 459 | 45.0 mi | |
| 2015 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 450 | 24.4 mi | |
| 2005 | Debris and open burning | 429 | 38.0 mi | |
| 2017 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 412 | 37.2 mi | |
| 2015 | Debris and open burning | 400 | 22.2 mi |
Top 3 ZIP codes by NFIRS incident count across 2021–2025. Each ZIP has its own fire profile — dive in for neighborhood-level context.
Six Kansas cities with population within ±25% of Edwardsville. 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.