In 2025, fire departments serving Granite City responded to 392 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $120K building blaze. Here's the full picture.
Unauthorized burning lead by count. Building fires lead by dollars. Together the top five categories make up about 65% of all calls.
Mar peaks. Apr dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
1,888 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2023. $6.2M cumulative property loss. 3 civilian deaths.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 325 | — | |
| 2022 | 392 | +20.6% | |
| 2023 | 427 | +8.9% | |
| 2024 | 352 | -17.6% | |
| 2025 | 392 | +11.4% |
For the 55 building fires Granite City departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 663 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 | 165 | 24.9% | |
| 2 | Outside area, other | 91 | 13.7% | |
| 3 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 86 | 13.0% | |
| 4 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 61 | 9.2% | |
| 5 | Cooking area, kitchen | 39 | 5.9% | |
| 6 | Wall surface: exterior | 17 | 2.6% | |
| 7 | Storage area, other | 16 | 2.4% | |
| 8 | Bedroom - < 5 persons; included are jail or prison | 15 | 2.3% | |
| 9 | Vehicle storage area; garage, carport | 15 | 2.3% | |
| 10 | Common room, den, family room, living room, lounge | 14 | 2.1% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 144 | 21.7% |
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 Granite City mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 470 | 70.9% | |
| 2 | Heat source: other | 36 | 5.4% | |
| 3 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 21 | 3.2% | |
| 4 | Arcing | 20 | 3.0% | |
| 5 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 15 | 2.3% | |
| 6 | Cigarette lighter | 14 | 2.1% | |
| 7 | Hot ember or ash | 13 | 2.0% | |
| 8 | Heat from other open flame or smoking materials | 13 | 2.0% | |
| 9 | Radiated heat from another fire | 9 | 1.4% | |
| 10 | Heat from direct flame, convection currents | 8 | 1.2% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 44 | 6.6% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Granite City departments in 2025. These 8 fires alone account for 89% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $120,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 2 | $80,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $60,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 4 | $50,000 | Road freight or transport vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 5 | $30,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 6 | $30,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 7 | $20,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 8 | $20,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Granite City sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
30 fire-related casualties recorded in NFIRS Module 11 across the 2021–2025 window. Age, gender, and severity are coarse-binned — no individual identification possible.
| Age | Count | |
|---|---|---|
| 0-9 | 0 | |
| 10-19 | 0 | |
| 20-29 | 3 | |
| 30-39 | 6 | |
| 40-49 | 8 | |
| 50-59 | 6 | |
| 60-69 | 1 | |
| 70-79 | 0 | |
| 80+ | 0 |
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 2,968 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 | 27.0 mi | |
| 2005 | Natural | 225 | 39.7 mi | |
| 2002 | Natural | 150 | 40.1 mi | |
| 2008 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 80 | 26.8 mi | |
| 2013 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 80 | 49.6 mi | |
| 2007 | Equipment and vehicle use | 80 | 22.1 mi | |
| 2009 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 80 | 48.6 mi | |
| 2008 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 75 | 34.8 mi | |
| 2020 | Debris and open burning | 60 | 38.3 mi | |
| 2009 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 60 | 48.1 mi | |
| 2004 | Recreation and ceremony | 56 | 47.0 mi | |
| 2003 | Arson/incendiarism | 50 | 42.3 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 Granite City. 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.