In 2025, fire departments serving Girard responded to 31 fire and hazmat incidents . Here's the full picture.
Fire, other lead by count. Building fires lead by dollars. Together the top five categories make up about 74% of all calls.
Nov peaks. Jan dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
137 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2022. $86K cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 20 | — | |
| 2022 | 36 | +80.0% | |
| 2023 | 29 | -19.4% | |
| 2024 | 21 | -27.6% | |
| 2025 | 31 | +47.6% |
For the 5 building fires Girard departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 60 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 | Other | 31 | 51.7% | |
| 2 | Outside area, other | 4 | 6.7% | |
| 3 | Undetermined | 4 | 6.7% | |
| 4 | Vehicle area, other | 3 | 5.0% | |
| 5 | Common room, den, family room, living room, lounge | 2 | 3.3% | |
| 6 | Cooking area, kitchen | 2 | 3.3% | |
| 7 | Laundry area, wash house (laundry) | 2 | 3.3% | |
| 8 | Storage area, other | 2 | 3.3% | |
| 9 | Vehicle storage area; garage, carport | 2 | 3.3% | |
| 10 | Wall surface: exterior | 2 | 3.3% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 6 | 10.0% |
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 Girard mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Heat source: other | 47 | 78.3% | |
| 2 | Undetermined | 5 | 8.3% | |
| 3 | Hot ember or ash | 2 | 3.3% | |
| 4 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 1 | 1.7% | |
| 5 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 1 | 1.7% | |
| 6 | Arcing | 1 | 1.7% | |
| 7 | Lightning | 1 | 1.7% | |
| 8 | Heat spread from another fire, other | 1 | 1.7% | |
| 9 | Radiated heat from another fire | 1 | 1.7% |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Girard sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 2,945 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 | 48.7 mi | |
| 2012 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 200 | 26.6 mi | |
| 2009 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 160 | 36.9 mi | |
| 2007 | Equipment and vehicle use | 80 | 35.5 mi | |
| 2009 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 80 | 39.9 mi | |
| 2014 | Debris and open burning | 80 | 38.1 mi | |
| 2014 | Debris and open burning | 80 | 34.3 mi | |
| 2008 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 75 | 18.4 mi | |
| 2010 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 75 | 36.4 mi | |
| 2009 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 60 | 45.3 mi | |
| 2011 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 60 | 30.9 mi | |
| 2011 | Equipment and vehicle use | 55 | 30.0 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 | 62640 | 137 |
Six Illinois cities with population within ±25% of Girard. 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.