In 2025, fire departments serving Geneseo responded to 150 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $15K building blaze. Here's the full picture.
Vehicle accident, general cleanup lead by count. Building fires lead by dollars. Together the top five categories make up about 88% of all calls.
May peaks. Jul dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
763 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2023. $215K cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 142 | — | |
| 2022 | 132 | -7.0% | |
| 2023 | 177 | +34.1% | |
| 2024 | 162 | -8.5% | |
| 2025 | 150 | -7.4% |
For the 3 building fires Geneseo departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 64 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 | 58 | 90.6% | |
| 2 | Laundry area, wash house (laundry) | 1 | 1.6% | |
| 3 | Storage area, other | 1 | 1.6% | |
| 4 | Vehicle storage area; garage, carport | 1 | 1.6% | |
| 5 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 1 | 1.6% | |
| 6 | Exterior, exposed surface | 1 | 1.6% | |
| 7 | Outside area, other | 1 | 1.6% |
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 Geneseo mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 60 | 93.8% | |
| 2 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 2 | 3.1% | |
| 3 | Heat source: other | 1 | 1.6% | |
| 4 | Lightning | 1 | 1.6% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Geneseo departments in 2025. These 3 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $15,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 2 | $10,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $200 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Geneseo sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 3,928 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2015 | Debris and open burning | 1,500 | 25.2 mi | |
| 2015 | Debris and open burning | 640 | 23.2 mi | |
| 2014 | Recreation and ceremony | 265 | 34.8 mi | |
| 2018 | Debris and open burning | 200 | 47.9 mi | |
| 2014 | Debris and open burning | 200 | 49.6 mi | |
| 2015 | Debris and open burning | 195 | 7.9 mi | |
| 2014 | Debris and open burning | 150 | 38.3 mi | |
| 2009 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 100 | 44.5 mi | |
| 2010 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 55 | 20.7 mi | |
| 2014 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 52 | 44.3 mi | |
| 2010 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 50 | 25.8 mi | |
| 2013 | Debris and open burning | 50 | 42.0 mi |
Top 1 ZIP codes by NFIRS incident count across 2021–2025. Each ZIP has its own fire profile — dive in for neighborhood-level context.
| # | ZIP | 5-yr incidents | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 61254 | 763 |
Six Illinois cities with population within ±25% of Geneseo. 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.