In 2025, fire departments serving Lawrenceville responded to 97 fire and hazmat incidents . Here's the full picture.
Building fires lead by count. Building fires lead by dollars. Together the top five categories make up about 76% of all calls.
Nov peaks. Feb dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
347 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2025. $1.6M cumulative property loss. 3 civilian deaths.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 42 | — | |
| 2022 | 89 | +111.9% | |
| 2023 | 51 | -42.7% | |
| 2024 | 68 | +33.3% | |
| 2025 | 97 | +42.6% |
For the 27 building fires Lawrenceville departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 178 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 | 84 | 47.2% | |
| 2 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 16 | 9.0% | |
| 3 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 11 | 6.2% | |
| 4 | Wall surface: exterior | 9 | 5.1% | |
| 5 | Outside area, other | 8 | 4.5% | |
| 6 | Other | 7 | 3.9% | |
| 7 | Cooking area, kitchen | 7 | 3.9% | |
| 8 | Common room, den, family room, living room, lounge | 4 | 2.2% | |
| 9 | Roof surface: exterior | 4 | 2.2% | |
| 10 | Wildland, woods | 4 | 2.2% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 24 | 13.5% |
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 Lawrenceville mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 119 | 66.9% | |
| 2 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 8 | 4.5% | |
| 3 | Arcing | 7 | 3.9% | |
| 4 | Flying brand, ember, spark | 6 | 3.4% | |
| 5 | Heat source: other | 5 | 2.8% | |
| 6 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 5 | 2.8% | |
| 7 | Heat from direct flame, convection currents | 4 | 2.2% | |
| 8 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 3 | 1.7% | |
| 9 | Heat spread from another fire, other | 3 | 1.7% | |
| 10 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 2 | 1.1% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 16 | 9.0% |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Lawrenceville sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 2,385 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2013 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 716 | 33.9 mi | |
| 2012 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 418 | 31.6 mi | |
| 2006 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 365 | 33.9 mi | |
| 2006 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 356 | 42.2 mi | |
| 2001 | Smoking | 80 | 28.3 mi | |
| 2002 | Arson/incendiarism | 60 | 39.9 mi | |
| 2010 | Debris and open burning | 43 | 27.8 mi | |
| 1999 | Debris and open burning | 40 | 28.3 mi | |
| 2014 | Debris and open burning | 40 | 47.7 mi | |
| 2005 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 40 | 46.6 mi | |
| 2008 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 30 | 28.1 mi | |
| 2001 | Recreation and ceremony | 20 | 22.4 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 Lawrenceville. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
1 departments report to NFIRS for incidents in Lawrenceville.
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.