In 2025, fire departments serving Farmington responded to 46 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $80K 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 59% of all calls.
Oct peaks. Jul dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
198 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2023. $1.2M cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 37 | — | |
| 2022 | 31 | -16.2% | |
| 2023 | 49 | +58.1% | |
| 2024 | 35 | -28.6% | |
| 2025 | 46 | +31.4% |
For the 8 building fires Farmington departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 45 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 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 6 | 13.3% | |
| 2 | Undetermined | 5 | 11.1% | |
| 3 | Vehicle storage area; garage, carport | 4 | 8.9% | |
| 4 | Wall surface: exterior | 4 | 8.9% | |
| 5 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 4 | 8.9% | |
| 6 | Bedroom - < 5 persons; included are jail or prison | 3 | 6.7% | |
| 7 | Substructure area or space, crawl space | 3 | 6.7% | |
| 8 | Other | 2 | 4.4% | |
| 9 | Vehicle area, other | 2 | 4.4% | |
| 10 | Exterior, exposed surface | 2 | 4.4% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 10 | 22.2% |
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 Farmington mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 16 | 35.6% | |
| 2 | Arcing | 6 | 13.3% | |
| 3 | Cigarette lighter | 4 | 8.9% | |
| 4 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 3 | 6.7% | |
| 5 | Hot ember or ash | 3 | 6.7% | |
| 6 | Cigarette | 3 | 6.7% | |
| 7 | Heat source: other | 2 | 4.4% | |
| 8 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 2 | 4.4% | |
| 9 | Heat from other open flame or smoking materials | 2 | 4.4% | |
| 10 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 1 | 2.2% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 3 | 6.7% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Farmington departments in 2025. These 7 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $80,000 | Fire in motor home, camper, recreational vehicle | Significant | Investigated |
| 2 | $80,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $75,000 | Fires in structures other than in a building | Significant | Investigated |
| 4 | $5,000 | Mobile property (vehicle) fire, other | Significant | Investigated |
| 5 | $1,500 | Fire, other | Significant | Investigated |
| 6 | $1,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 7 | $100 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Farmington sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
9 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 | 1 | |
| 10-19 | 0 | |
| 20-29 | 2 | |
| 30-39 | 2 | |
| 40-49 | 1 | |
| 50-59 | 1 | |
| 60-69 | 1 | |
| 70-79 | 1 | |
| 80+ | 0 |
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 1,458 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2012 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 375 | 22.6 mi | |
| 1999 | Debris and open burning | 250 | 25.9 mi | |
| 2018 | Debris and open burning | 200 | 12.6 mi | |
| 2014 | Debris and open burning | 60 | 46.2 mi | |
| 2014 | Debris and open burning | 51 | 48.4 mi | |
| 2018 | Debris and open burning | 45 | 48.0 mi | |
| 2012 | Equipment and vehicle use | 40 | 43.9 mi | |
| 2014 | Debris and open burning | 40 | 41.7 mi | |
| 2013 | Debris and open burning | 37 | 27.3 mi | |
| 2016 | Debris and open burning | 35 | 40.3 mi | |
| 2004 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 28 | 24.2 mi | |
| 2008 | Debris and open burning | 25 | 42.2 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 Farmington. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
1 departments report to NFIRS for incidents in Farmington.
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.