In 2025, fire departments serving Jonesboro responded to 37 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $100K 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 62% of all calls.
Mar peaks. May dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
155 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2025. $931K cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 35 | — | |
| 2022 | 30 | -14.3% | |
| 2023 | 30 | +0.0% | |
| 2024 | 23 | -23.3% | |
| 2025 | 37 | +60.9% |
For the 9 building fires Jonesboro departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 68 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 | 22 | 32.4% | |
| 2 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 11 | 16.2% | |
| 3 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 8 | 11.8% | |
| 4 | Outside area, other | 6 | 8.8% | |
| 5 | Bedroom - < 5 persons; included are jail or prison | 2 | 2.9% | |
| 6 | Laundry area, wash house (laundry) | 2 | 2.9% | |
| 7 | Operator/passenger area of transportation equip. | 2 | 2.9% | |
| 8 | Railroad right of way: on or near | 2 | 2.9% | |
| 9 | Vacant structural area | 2 | 2.9% | |
| 10 | Other | 1 | 1.5% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 10 | 14.7% |
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 Jonesboro mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 47 | 69.1% | |
| 2 | Hot ember or ash | 7 | 10.3% | |
| 3 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 4 | 5.9% | |
| 4 | Arcing | 3 | 4.4% | |
| 5 | Heat from other open flame or smoking materials | 2 | 2.9% | |
| 6 | Heat source: other | 1 | 1.5% | |
| 7 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 1 | 1.5% | |
| 8 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 1 | 1.5% | |
| 9 | Cigarette lighter | 1 | 1.5% | |
| 10 | Conducted heat from another fire | 1 | 1.5% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Jonesboro departments in 2025. These 5 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $100,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 2 | $40,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $35,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 4 | $12,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 5 | $500 | Outside equipment fire | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Jonesboro sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 4,859 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 | 49.8 mi | |
| 2019 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 569 | 36.6 mi | |
| 2010 | Arson/incendiarism | 409 | 14.6 mi | |
| 1995 | Arson/incendiarism | 245 | 8.3 mi | |
| 2007 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 225 | 41.6 mi | |
| 2008 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 200 | 20.1 mi | |
| 2006 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 172 | 34.4 mi | |
| 2009 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 160 | 49.9 mi | |
| 2005 | Debris and open burning | 160 | 38.6 mi | |
| 2004 | Debris and open burning | 150 | 40.0 mi | |
| 2006 | Arson/incendiarism | 129 | 37.0 mi | |
| 2011 | Debris and open burning | 120 | 38.8 mi |
Top 5 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 Jonesboro. 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.