In 2025, fire departments serving Franklin responded to 18 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $150K 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 83% of all calls.
Feb peaks. Jan dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
63 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2024. $342K cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021* | 4 | — | |
| 2022 | 13 | — | |
| 2023 | 8 | -38.5% | |
| 2024 | 20 | +150.0% | |
| 2025 | 18 | -10.0% |
* Well below Franklin's usual volume. That almost always means one or more departments didn't submit a full year to NFIRS, not that fires dropped, so no year-over-year change is shown for it.
For the 6 building fires Franklin departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 12 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 | 6 | 50.0% | |
| 2 | Other | 1 | 8.3% | |
| 3 | Duct: hvac, cable, exhaust, heating, or AC | 1 | 8.3% | |
| 4 | Wall surface: exterior | 1 | 8.3% | |
| 5 | Vehicle area, other | 1 | 8.3% | |
| 6 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 1 | 8.3% | |
| 7 | Vacant structural area | 1 | 8.3% |
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 Franklin mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 4 | 33.3% | |
| 2 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 2 | 16.7% | |
| 3 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 2 | 16.7% | |
| 4 | Hot ember or ash | 2 | 16.7% | |
| 5 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 1 | 8.3% | |
| 6 | Chemical reaction | 1 | 8.3% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Franklin departments in 2025. These 4 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $150,000 | Off-road vehicle or heavy equipment fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 2 | $50,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $20,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 4 | $1,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Franklin sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 3,126 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 | 48.9 mi | |
| 1999 | Debris and open burning | 250 | 49.4 mi | |
| 2012 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 200 | 31.8 mi | |
| 2014 | Debris and open burning | 140 | 41.2 mi | |
| 2006 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 100 | 45.6 mi | |
| 2014 | Debris and open burning | 96 | 42.1 mi | |
| 2007 | Equipment and vehicle use | 80 | 40.6 mi | |
| 2008 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 75 | 31.7 mi | |
| 2010 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 75 | 32.7 mi | |
| 2011 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 60 | 12.4 mi | |
| 2011 | Equipment and vehicle use | 55 | 12.3 mi | |
| 2011 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 50 | 11.2 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 Illinois cities with population within ±25% of Franklin. 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.