In 2025, fire departments serving Hopedale responded to 14 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $80K 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 64% of all calls.
Mar peaks. Feb dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
58 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2024. $537K cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 13 | — | |
| 2022 | 10 | -23.1% | |
| 2023 | 7 | -30.0% | |
| 2024 | 14 | +100.0% | |
| 2025 | 14 | +0.0% |
For the 1 building fires Hopedale departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 19 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 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 6 | 31.6% | |
| 2 | Vehicle storage area; garage, carport | 2 | 10.5% | |
| 3 | Highway, parking lot, street: on or near | 2 | 10.5% | |
| 4 | Bathroom, checkroom, lavatory, locker room | 1 | 5.3% | |
| 5 | Storage area, other | 1 | 5.3% | |
| 6 | Heating room or area, water heater area | 1 | 5.3% | |
| 7 | Roof surface: exterior | 1 | 5.3% | |
| 8 | Vehicle area, other | 1 | 5.3% | |
| 9 | Operator/passenger area of transportation equip. | 1 | 5.3% | |
| 10 | Cargo/trunk area - all vehicles | 1 | 5.3% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 2 | 10.5% |
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 Hopedale mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 8 | 42.1% | |
| 2 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 4 | 21.1% | |
| 3 | Arcing | 2 | 10.5% | |
| 4 | Heat source: other | 1 | 5.3% | |
| 5 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 1 | 5.3% | |
| 6 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 1 | 5.3% | |
| 7 | Heat from other open flame or smoking materials | 1 | 5.3% | |
| 8 | Match | 1 | 5.3% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Hopedale departments in 2025. These 4 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $80,000 | Vehicle accident, general cleanup | Significant | Investigated |
| 2 | $20,000 | Off-road vehicle or heavy equipment fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $1,000 | Fires in structures other than in a building | Significant | Investigated |
| 4 | $1,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Hopedale sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 1,889 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2012 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 375 | 23.7 mi | |
| 1999 | Debris and open burning | 250 | 37.1 mi | |
| 2012 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 200 | 46.6 mi | |
| 2018 | Debris and open burning | 200 | 33.5 mi | |
| 2018 | Equipment and vehicle use | 80 | 19.9 mi | |
| 2010 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 75 | 33.8 mi | |
| 2014 | Debris and open burning | 60 | 40.4 mi | |
| 2014 | Debris and open burning | 51 | 40.4 mi | |
| 2010 | Debris and open burning | 50 | 38.5 mi | |
| 2014 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 50 | 20.0 mi | |
| 2010 | Debris and open burning | 50 | 37.0 mi | |
| 2018 | Debris and open burning | 45 | 42.0 mi |
Top 1 ZIP codes by NFIRS incident count across 2021–2025. Each ZIP has its own fire profile — dive in for neighborhood-level context.
| # | ZIP | 5-yr incidents | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 61747 | 58 |
Six Illinois cities with population within ±25% of Hopedale. 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.