In 2025, fire departments serving Hurst responded to 19 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $60K 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 74% of all calls.
Jun peaks. Feb dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
78 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2021. $259K cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 20 | — | |
| 2022 | 17 | -15.0% | |
| 2023 | 11 | -35.3% | |
| 2024 | 11 | +0.0% | |
| 2025 | 19 | +72.7% |
For the 8 building fires Hurst departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 18 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 | 5 | 27.8% | |
| 2 | Common room, den, family room, living room, lounge | 2 | 11.1% | |
| 3 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 2 | 11.1% | |
| 4 | Other | 1 | 5.6% | |
| 5 | Corridor, mall | 1 | 5.6% | |
| 6 | Cooking area, kitchen | 1 | 5.6% | |
| 7 | Bathroom, checkroom, lavatory, locker room | 1 | 5.6% | |
| 8 | Storage: supplies or tools; dead storage | 1 | 5.6% | |
| 9 | Vehicle storage area; garage, carport | 1 | 5.6% | |
| 10 | Wall assembly | 1 | 5.6% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 2 | 11.1% |
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 Hurst mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 13 | 72.2% | |
| 2 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 2 | 11.1% | |
| 3 | Arcing | 1 | 5.6% | |
| 4 | Chemical reaction | 1 | 5.6% | |
| 5 | Heat spread from another fire, other | 1 | 5.6% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Hurst departments in 2025. These 4 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $60,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 2 | $10,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $7,000 | Water vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 4 | $2,000 | Fire in portable building, fixed location | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Hurst sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 4,424 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 | 33.6 mi | |
| 2010 | Arson/incendiarism | 409 | 22.2 mi | |
| 1995 | Arson/incendiarism | 245 | 35.7 mi | |
| 2007 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 225 | 15.5 mi | |
| 2008 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 200 | 35.1 mi | |
| 2020 | Equipment and vehicle use | 177 | 45.7 mi | |
| 2020 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 176 | 45.0 mi | |
| 2009 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 160 | 33.8 mi | |
| 2005 | Debris and open burning | 160 | 13.6 mi | |
| 2004 | Debris and open burning | 150 | 14.9 mi | |
| 2006 | Arson/incendiarism | 129 | 40.7 mi | |
| 2011 | Debris and open burning | 120 | 44.7 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 Hurst. 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.