In 2025, fire departments serving Fairmont City responded to 48 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $65K building blaze. Here's the full picture.
Power line down lead by count. Building fires lead by dollars. Together the top five categories make up about 73% of all calls.
May peaks. Feb dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
282 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2021. $201K cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 70 | — | |
| 2022 | 52 | -25.7% | |
| 2023 | 56 | +7.7% | |
| 2024 | 56 | +0.0% | |
| 2025 | 48 | -14.3% |
For the 4 building fires Fairmont City departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 66 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 | 51 | 77.3% | |
| 2 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 5 | 7.6% | |
| 3 | Cooking area, kitchen | 2 | 3.0% | |
| 4 | Vehicle area, other | 2 | 3.0% | |
| 5 | Exterior, exposed surface | 2 | 3.0% | |
| 6 | Common room, den, family room, living room, lounge | 1 | 1.5% | |
| 7 | Roof surface: exterior | 1 | 1.5% | |
| 8 | Outside area, other | 1 | 1.5% | |
| 9 | Highway, parking lot, street: on or near | 1 | 1.5% |
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 Fairmont City mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 56 | 84.8% | |
| 2 | Heat source: other | 3 | 4.5% | |
| 3 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 3 | 4.5% | |
| 4 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 1 | 1.5% | |
| 5 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 1 | 1.5% | |
| 6 | Heat from other open flame or smoking materials | 1 | 1.5% | |
| 7 | Flame/torch used for lighting | 1 | 1.5% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Fairmont City departments in 2025. These 5 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $64,900 | Fire in mobile home used as fixed residence | Significant | Investigated |
| 2 | $20,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $10,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 4 | $10,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 5 | $10,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Fairmont City sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 3,318 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 | 31.9 mi | |
| 1997 | Debris and open burning | 270 | 47.7 mi | |
| 2005 | Natural | 225 | 34.8 mi | |
| 2002 | Natural | 150 | 35.1 mi | |
| 2014 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 150 | 49.1 mi | |
| 2008 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 80 | 22.0 mi | |
| 2013 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 80 | 47.9 mi | |
| 2007 | Equipment and vehicle use | 80 | 27.7 mi | |
| 2009 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 80 | 49.9 mi | |
| 2008 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 75 | 39.4 mi | |
| 2020 | Debris and open burning | 60 | 33.0 mi | |
| 2009 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 60 | 48.7 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 Illinois cities with population within ±25% of Fairmont City. 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.