In 2025, fire departments serving Hebron responded to 29 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $20K 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 55% of all calls.
Jul peaks. Feb dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
162 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2024. $325K cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021* | 18 | — | |
| 2022 | 28 | — | |
| 2023 | 37 | +32.1% | |
| 2024 | 50 | +35.1% | |
| 2025 | 29 | -42.0% |
* Well below Hebron's usual volume. That almost always means one or more departments didn't submit a full year to NFIRS, not that fires dropped, so no year-over-year change is shown for it.
For the 6 building fires Hebron departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 14 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 | 3 | 21.4% | |
| 2 | Other | 2 | 14.3% | |
| 3 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 2 | 14.3% | |
| 4 | Outside area, other | 2 | 14.3% | |
| 5 | Cooking area, kitchen | 1 | 7.1% | |
| 6 | Closet | 1 | 7.1% | |
| 7 | Attic: vacant, crawl space above top story, cupola | 1 | 7.1% | |
| 8 | Roof surface: exterior | 1 | 7.1% | |
| 9 | Courtyard, patio, porch, terrace | 1 | 7.1% |
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 Hebron mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 6 | 42.9% | |
| 2 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 2 | 14.3% | |
| 3 | Arcing | 1 | 7.1% | |
| 4 | Hot ember or ash | 1 | 7.1% | |
| 5 | Cigarette lighter | 1 | 7.1% | |
| 6 | Flame/torch used for lighting | 1 | 7.1% | |
| 7 | Lightning | 1 | 7.1% | |
| 8 | Flying brand, ember, spark | 1 | 7.1% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Hebron departments in 2025. These 5 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $20,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 2 | $10,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $5,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 4 | $5,000 | Heat from short circuit (wiring), defective/worn | Significant | Investigated |
| 5 | $2,500 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Hebron sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 5,299 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | Equipment and vehicle use | 1,100 | 48.5 mi | |
| 2015 | Misuse of fire by a minor | 750 | 32.5 mi | |
| 1999 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 580 | 47.9 mi | |
| 2016 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 500 | 45.3 mi | |
| 2003 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 450 | 31.1 mi | |
| 2012 | Arson/incendiarism | 254 | 45.5 mi | |
| 2018 | Debris and open burning | 252 | 41.2 mi | |
| 2010 | Natural | 200 | 32.6 mi | |
| 2010 | Natural | 180 | 32.1 mi | |
| 2004 | Smoking | 169 | 47.9 mi | |
| 2010 | Equipment and vehicle use | 80 | 17.8 mi | |
| 2012 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 80 | 13.3 mi |
Top 3 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 Hebron. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
1 departments report to NFIRS for incidents in Hebron.
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.