In 2025, fire departments serving Freeburg responded to 62 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $1.0M 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.
Mar peaks. Feb dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
263 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2023. $2.8M cumulative property loss. 1 civilian deaths.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 49 | — | |
| 2022 | 47 | -4.1% | |
| 2023 | 64 | +36.2% | |
| 2024 | 41 | -35.9% | |
| 2025 | 62 | +51.2% |
For the 5 building fires Freeburg departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 71 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 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 15 | 21.1% | |
| 2 | Outside area, other | 13 | 18.3% | |
| 3 | Cooking area, kitchen | 9 | 12.7% | |
| 4 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 6 | 8.5% | |
| 5 | Function area, other | 3 | 4.2% | |
| 6 | Vehicle storage area; garage, carport | 3 | 4.2% | |
| 7 | Highway, parking lot, street: on or near | 3 | 4.2% | |
| 8 | Undetermined | 3 | 4.2% | |
| 9 | Storage area, other | 2 | 2.8% | |
| 10 | Chute/container - trash, rubbish, waste | 2 | 2.8% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 12 | 16.9% |
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 Freeburg mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 15 | 21.1% | |
| 2 | Hot ember or ash | 13 | 18.3% | |
| 3 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 7 | 9.9% | |
| 4 | Arcing | 7 | 9.9% | |
| 5 | Heat spread from another fire, other | 6 | 8.5% | |
| 6 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 5 | 7.0% | |
| 7 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 5 | 7.0% | |
| 8 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 3 | 4.2% | |
| 9 | Heat from other open flame or smoking materials | 2 | 2.8% | |
| 10 | Heat source: other | 1 | 1.4% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 7 | 9.9% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Freeburg departments in 2025. These 7 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $1,000,000 | Building fires | Major | Investigated |
| 2 | $350,000 | Building fires | Major | Investigated |
| 3 | $2,000 | Brush, or brush and grass mixture fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 4 | $1,000 | Road freight or transport vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 5 | $1 | Brush, or brush and grass mixture fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 6 | $1 | Brush, or brush and grass mixture fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 7 | $1 | Brush, or brush and grass mixture fire | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Freeburg sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 3,705 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 | 49.5 mi | |
| 1997 | Debris and open burning | 270 | 46.3 mi | |
| 2005 | Natural | 225 | 27.8 mi | |
| 2007 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 225 | 46.5 mi | |
| 2005 | Debris and open burning | 160 | 46.4 mi | |
| 2002 | Natural | 150 | 28.1 mi | |
| 2014 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 150 | 43.8 mi | |
| 2004 | Debris and open burning | 150 | 45.5 mi | |
| 2008 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 80 | 19.4 mi | |
| 2013 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 80 | 40.4 mi | |
| 2007 | Equipment and vehicle use | 80 | 44.4 mi | |
| 1995 | Debris and open burning | 60 | 49.8 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 Freeburg. 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.