In 2025, fire departments serving Glen Carbon responded to 129 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $5.5M building blaze. Here's the full picture.
Carbon monoxide incident lead by count. Building fires lead by dollars. Together the top five categories make up about 79% of all calls.
Mar peaks. Feb dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
394 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2025. $6.8M cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 52 | — | |
| 2022 | 62 | +19.2% | |
| 2023 | 74 | +19.4% | |
| 2024 | 77 | +4.1% | |
| 2025 | 129 | +67.5% |
For the 23 building fires Glen Carbon departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 106 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 | 17 | 16.0% | |
| 2 | Undetermined | 16 | 15.1% | |
| 3 | Outside area, other | 14 | 13.2% | |
| 4 | Cooking area, kitchen | 11 | 10.4% | |
| 5 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 11 | 10.4% | |
| 6 | Vehicle storage area; garage, carport | 5 | 4.7% | |
| 7 | Vehicle area, other | 4 | 3.8% | |
| 8 | Highway, parking lot, street: on or near | 4 | 3.8% | |
| 9 | Wildland, woods | 4 | 3.8% | |
| 10 | Bathroom, checkroom, lavatory, locker room | 3 | 2.8% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 17 | 16.0% |
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 Glen Carbon mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 52 | 49.1% | |
| 2 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 13 | 12.3% | |
| 3 | Heat source: other | 5 | 4.7% | |
| 4 | Arcing | 5 | 4.7% | |
| 5 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 4 | 3.8% | |
| 6 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 4 | 3.8% | |
| 7 | Hot ember or ash | 4 | 3.8% | |
| 8 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 3 | 2.8% | |
| 9 | Heat from other open flame or smoking materials | 3 | 2.8% | |
| 10 | Fireworks | 2 | 1.9% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 11 | 10.4% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Glen Carbon departments in 2025. These 8 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $5,500,000 | Building fires | Catastrophic | Investigated |
| 2 | $230,000 | Road freight or transport vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $50,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 4 | $50,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 5 | $25,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 6 | $20,000 | Mobile property (vehicle) fire, other | Significant | Investigated |
| 7 | $4,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 8 | $3,000 | Cooking fire, confined to container | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Glen Carbon sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 3,022 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 | 31.9 mi | |
| 2005 | Natural | 225 | 44.0 mi | |
| 2002 | Natural | 150 | 44.4 mi | |
| 2008 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 80 | 31.5 mi | |
| 2013 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 80 | 42.2 mi | |
| 2007 | Equipment and vehicle use | 80 | 22.9 mi | |
| 2009 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 80 | 40.7 mi | |
| 2014 | Debris and open burning | 80 | 43.6 mi | |
| 2014 | Debris and open burning | 80 | 47.2 mi | |
| 2008 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 75 | 30.4 mi | |
| 2020 | Debris and open burning | 60 | 41.6 mi | |
| 2009 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 60 | 40.1 mi |
Top 5 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 Glen Carbon. 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.