In 2025, fire departments serving Godfrey responded to 162 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $500K building blaze. Here's the full picture.
Gas leak (natural gas or LPG) lead by count. Building fires lead by dollars. Together the top five categories make up about 51% of all calls.
Mar peaks. Feb dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
627 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2025. $2.9M cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 89 | — | |
| 2022 | 116 | +30.3% | |
| 2023 | 135 | +16.4% | |
| 2024 | 125 | -7.4% | |
| 2025 | 162 | +29.6% |
For the 16 building fires Godfrey departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 157 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 | 34 | 21.7% | |
| 2 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 23 | 14.6% | |
| 3 | Outside area, other | 22 | 14.0% | |
| 4 | Cooking area, kitchen | 8 | 5.1% | |
| 5 | Vehicle storage area; garage, carport | 8 | 5.1% | |
| 6 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 8 | 5.1% | |
| 7 | Wildland, woods | 5 | 3.2% | |
| 8 | Storage area, other | 4 | 2.5% | |
| 9 | Substructure area or space, crawl space | 4 | 2.5% | |
| 10 | Exterior balcony, unenclosed porch | 4 | 2.5% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 37 | 23.6% |
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 Godfrey mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 85 | 54.1% | |
| 2 | Hot ember or ash | 12 | 7.6% | |
| 3 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 9 | 5.7% | |
| 4 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 8 | 5.1% | |
| 5 | Arcing | 6 | 3.8% | |
| 6 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 5 | 3.2% | |
| 7 | Flying brand, ember, spark | 5 | 3.2% | |
| 8 | Heat source: other | 4 | 2.5% | |
| 9 | Cigarette | 3 | 1.9% | |
| 10 | Heat spread from another fire, other | 3 | 1.9% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 17 | 10.8% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Godfrey departments in 2025. These 8 fires alone account for 99% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $500,000 | Building fires | Major | Investigated |
| 2 | $105,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $75,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 4 | $25,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 5 | $15,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 6 | $15,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 7 | $10,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 8 | $7,000 | Brush, or brush and grass mixture fire | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Godfrey sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 3,845 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 | 14.9 mi | |
| 1992 | Debris and open burning | 1,050 | 49.7 mi | |
| 2014 | Debris and open burning | 140 | 48.2 mi | |
| 2006 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 100 | 37.6 mi | |
| 2006 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 100 | 45.8 mi | |
| 2014 | Debris and open burning | 96 | 44.4 mi | |
| 2008 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 80 | 41.6 mi | |
| 2007 | Equipment and vehicle use | 80 | 6.1 mi | |
| 2009 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 80 | 49.5 mi | |
| 2008 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 75 | 25.0 mi | |
| 1997 | Debris and open burning | 50 | 47.5 mi | |
| 2011 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 50 | 38.9 mi |
Top 2 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 Godfrey. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
1 departments report to NFIRS for incidents in Godfrey.
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.