In 2025, fire departments serving Elkville responded to 15 fire and hazmat incidents . Here's the full picture.
Fire, other lead by count. Building fires lead by dollars. Together the top five categories make up about 87% of all calls.
Mar peaks. Feb dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
106 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2023. $453K cumulative property loss. 1 civilian deaths.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 15 | — | |
| 2022 | 23 | +53.3% | |
| 2023 | 35 | +52.2% | |
| 2024 | 18 | -48.6% | |
| 2025 | 15 | -16.7% |
For the 0 building fires Elkville departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 27 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 | Common room, den, family room, living room, lounge | 6 | 22.2% | |
| 2 | Undetermined | 6 | 22.2% | |
| 3 | Vehicle area, other | 3 | 11.1% | |
| 4 | Cooking area, kitchen | 2 | 7.4% | |
| 5 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 2 | 7.4% | |
| 6 | Other | 1 | 3.7% | |
| 7 | Entrance way, lobby | 1 | 3.7% | |
| 8 | Bedroom - < 5 persons; included are jail or prison | 1 | 3.7% | |
| 9 | Operator/passenger area of transportation equip. | 1 | 3.7% | |
| 10 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 1 | 3.7% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 3 | 11.1% |
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 Elkville mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 15 | 55.6% | |
| 2 | Heat source: other | 3 | 11.1% | |
| 3 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 1 | 3.7% | |
| 4 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 1 | 3.7% | |
| 5 | Arcing | 1 | 3.7% | |
| 6 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 1 | 3.7% | |
| 7 | Heat, spark from friction | 1 | 3.7% | |
| 8 | Hot ember or ash | 1 | 3.7% | |
| 9 | Heat from other open flame or smoking materials | 1 | 3.7% | |
| 10 | Heat from direct flame, convection currents | 1 | 3.7% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 1 | 3.7% |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Elkville 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 | 1 | |
| 30-39 | 1 | |
| 40-49 | 2 | |
| 50-59 | 1 | |
| 60-69 | 0 | |
| 70-79 | 0 | |
| 80+ | 0 |
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 4,183 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2009 | Equipment and vehicle use | 1,000 | 38.5 mi | |
| 2010 | Arson/incendiarism | 409 | 23.3 mi | |
| 1995 | Arson/incendiarism | 245 | 40.0 mi | |
| 2007 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 225 | 9.9 mi | |
| 2008 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 200 | 41.9 mi | |
| 2009 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 160 | 38.7 mi | |
| 2005 | Debris and open burning | 160 | 7.0 mi | |
| 2004 | Debris and open burning | 150 | 8.4 mi | |
| 2006 | Arson/incendiarism | 129 | 47.9 mi | |
| 2011 | Debris and open burning | 120 | 41.8 mi | |
| 2005 | Debris and open burning | 115 | 47.8 mi | |
| 1994 | Arson/incendiarism | 110 | 48.8 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 Elkville. 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.