In 2025, fire departments serving Hampshire responded to 165 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $150K building blaze. Here's the full picture.
Building fires lead by count. Building fires lead by dollars. Together the top five categories make up about 70% of all calls.
Mar peaks. Nov dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
783 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2024. $3.3M cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 132 | — | |
| 2022 | 150 | +13.6% | |
| 2023 | 157 | +4.7% | |
| 2024 | 179 | +14.0% | |
| 2025 | 165 | -7.8% |
For the 43 building fires Hampshire departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 172 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 | 38 | 22.1% | |
| 2 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 35 | 20.3% | |
| 3 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 24 | 14.0% | |
| 4 | Outside area, other | 12 | 7.0% | |
| 5 | Cooking area, kitchen | 11 | 6.4% | |
| 6 | Wildland, woods | 6 | 3.5% | |
| 7 | Vehicle area, other | 5 | 2.9% | |
| 8 | Function area, other | 4 | 2.3% | |
| 9 | Vehicle storage area; garage, carport | 4 | 2.3% | |
| 10 | Machinery room or area; elevator machinery room | 3 | 1.7% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 30 | 17.4% |
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 Hampshire mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 99 | 57.6% | |
| 2 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 12 | 7.0% | |
| 3 | Hot ember or ash | 8 | 4.7% | |
| 4 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 7 | 4.1% | |
| 5 | Heat, spark from friction | 7 | 4.1% | |
| 6 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 5 | 2.9% | |
| 7 | Heat source: other | 4 | 2.3% | |
| 8 | Arcing | 4 | 2.3% | |
| 9 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 4 | 2.3% | |
| 10 | Heat from other open flame or smoking materials | 4 | 2.3% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 18 | 10.5% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Hampshire departments in 2025. These 8 fires alone account for 96% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $150,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 2 | $150,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $100,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 4 | $80,000 | Mobile property (vehicle) fire, other | Significant | Investigated |
| 5 | $65,000 | Off-road vehicle or heavy equipment fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 6 | $50,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 7 | $30,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 8 | $8,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Hampshire sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
5 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 | 0 | |
| 30-39 | 1 | |
| 40-49 | 1 | |
| 50-59 | 1 | |
| 60-69 | 0 | |
| 70-79 | 2 | |
| 80+ | 0 |
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 2,816 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2015 | Misuse of fire by a minor | 750 | 41.2 mi | |
| 2016 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 500 | 49.4 mi | |
| 2003 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 450 | 40.1 mi | |
| 2010 | Debris and open burning | 100 | 35.5 mi | |
| 2010 | Equipment and vehicle use | 80 | 40.1 mi | |
| 2012 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 80 | 22.6 mi | |
| 2020 | Arson/incendiarism | 76 | 50.0 mi | |
| 2003 | Recreation and ceremony | 75 | 5.8 mi | |
| 2010 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 70 | 34.8 mi | |
| 2020 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 60 | 40.6 mi | |
| 2010 | Debris and open burning | 53 | 49.2 mi | |
| 2014 | Arson/incendiarism | 50 | 14.3 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 Hampshire. 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.