In 2025, fire departments serving Golconda responded to 23 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $85K building blaze. Here's the full picture.
Brush, or brush and grass mixture fire lead by count. Building fires lead by dollars. Together the top five categories make up about 78% of all calls.
Aug peaks. May dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
95 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2025. $700K cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 16 | — | |
| 2022 | 21 | +31.2% | |
| 2023 | 16 | -23.8% | |
| 2024 | 19 | +18.8% | |
| 2025 | 23 | +21.1% |
For the 5 building fires Golconda departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 30 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 | 21 | 70.0% | |
| 2 | Outside area, other | 2 | 6.7% | |
| 3 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 2 | 6.7% | |
| 4 | Other | 1 | 3.3% | |
| 5 | Common room, den, family room, living room, lounge | 1 | 3.3% | |
| 6 | Vehicle storage area; garage, carport | 1 | 3.3% | |
| 7 | Substructure area or space, crawl space | 1 | 3.3% | |
| 8 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 1 | 3.3% |
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 Golconda mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 21 | 70.0% | |
| 2 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 3 | 10.0% | |
| 3 | Hot ember or ash | 2 | 6.7% | |
| 4 | Heat source: other | 1 | 3.3% | |
| 5 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 1 | 3.3% | |
| 6 | Arcing | 1 | 3.3% | |
| 7 | Lightning | 1 | 3.3% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Golconda departments in 2025. These 3 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $85,000 | Off-road vehicle or heavy equipment fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 2 | $85,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $15,000 | Off-road vehicle or heavy equipment fire | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Golconda sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 5,170 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2009 | Equipment and vehicle use | 1,000 | 35.6 mi | |
| 2004 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 271 | 46.2 mi | |
| 2009 | Arson/incendiarism | 250 | 33.6 mi | |
| 1995 | Arson/incendiarism | 245 | 44.7 mi | |
| 2010 | Equipment and vehicle use | 234 | 35.4 mi | |
| 2007 | Railroad operations and maintenance | 227 | 44.5 mi | |
| 2012 | Equipment and vehicle use | 221 | 29.9 mi | |
| 2008 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 200 | 23.8 mi | |
| 2007 | Recreation and ceremony | 190 | 41.4 mi | |
| 2000 | Arson/incendiarism | 180 | 38.8 mi | |
| 2020 | Equipment and vehicle use | 177 | 23.3 mi | |
| 2020 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 176 | 22.8 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 Golconda. 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.