In 2025, fire departments serving Litchfield responded to 94 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $50K 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 56% of all calls.
Mar peaks. Dec dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
585 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2022. $1.5M cumulative property loss. 1 civilian deaths.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 127 | — | |
| 2022 | 135 | +6.3% | |
| 2023 | 119 | -11.9% | |
| 2024 | 110 | -7.6% | |
| 2025 | 94 | -14.5% |
For the 13 building fires Litchfield departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 190 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 | Outside area, other | 32 | 16.8% | |
| 2 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 29 | 15.3% | |
| 3 | Undetermined | 26 | 13.7% | |
| 4 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 16 | 8.4% | |
| 5 | Cooking area, kitchen | 12 | 6.3% | |
| 6 | Other | 8 | 4.2% | |
| 7 | Vehicle area, other | 8 | 4.2% | |
| 8 | Vehicle storage area; garage, carport | 6 | 3.2% | |
| 9 | Cargo/trunk area - all vehicles | 5 | 2.6% | |
| 10 | Exterior, exposed surface | 5 | 2.6% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 43 | 22.6% |
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 Litchfield mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 84 | 44.2% | |
| 2 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 19 | 10.0% | |
| 3 | Heat source: other | 12 | 6.3% | |
| 4 | Cigarette lighter | 12 | 6.3% | |
| 5 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 11 | 5.8% | |
| 6 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 8 | 4.2% | |
| 7 | Hot ember or ash | 7 | 3.7% | |
| 8 | Flame/torch used for lighting | 6 | 3.2% | |
| 9 | Arcing | 5 | 2.6% | |
| 10 | Heat from direct flame, convection currents | 5 | 2.6% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 21 | 11.1% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Litchfield departments in 2025. These 8 fires alone account for 97% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $50,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 2 | $25,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $5,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 4 | $5,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 5 | $2,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 6 | $2,000 | Road freight or transport vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 7 | $2,000 | Off-road vehicle or heavy equipment fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 8 | $1,500 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Litchfield sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
5 fire-related casualties recorded in NFIRS Module 11 across the 2021–2025 window. Age, gender, and severity are coarse-binned — no individual identification possible.
| Age | Count | |
|---|---|---|
| 0-9 | 0 | |
| 10-19 | 0 | |
| 20-29 | 1 | |
| 30-39 | 0 | |
| 40-49 | 0 | |
| 50-59 | 0 | |
| 60-69 | 2 | |
| 70-79 | 0 | |
| 80+ | 0 |
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 3,025 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2011 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 1,475 | 47.9 mi | |
| 2012 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 200 | 39.2 mi | |
| 2009 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 160 | 30.6 mi | |
| 2013 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 100 | 47.1 mi | |
| 2013 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 80 | 44.5 mi | |
| 2007 | Equipment and vehicle use | 80 | 32.0 mi | |
| 2009 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 80 | 22.1 mi | |
| 2014 | Debris and open burning | 80 | 21.3 mi | |
| 2014 | Debris and open burning | 80 | 19.8 mi | |
| 2008 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 75 | 12.1 mi | |
| 2009 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 60 | 26.9 mi | |
| 2011 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 60 | 49.3 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 Litchfield. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
1 departments report to NFIRS for incidents in Litchfield.
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.