In 2025, fire departments serving Lyons responded to 92 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 62% of all calls.
Jul peaks. Jun dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
664 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2023. $823K cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 139 | — | |
| 2022 | 145 | +4.3% | |
| 2023 | 165 | +13.8% | |
| 2024 | 123 | -25.5% | |
| 2025 | 92 | -25.2% |
For the 9 building fires Lyons departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 60 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 | 11 | 18.3% | |
| 2 | Outside area, other | 9 | 15.0% | |
| 3 | Undetermined | 8 | 13.3% | |
| 4 | Other | 3 | 5.0% | |
| 5 | Vehicle area, other | 3 | 5.0% | |
| 6 | Bedroom - < 5 persons; included are jail or prison | 2 | 3.3% | |
| 7 | Equipment or service area, other | 2 | 3.3% | |
| 8 | Exterior balcony, unenclosed porch | 2 | 3.3% | |
| 9 | Operator/passenger area of transportation equip. | 2 | 3.3% | |
| 10 | Exterior, exposed surface | 2 | 3.3% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 16 | 26.7% |
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 Lyons mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 36 | 60.0% | |
| 2 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 6 | 10.0% | |
| 3 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 5 | 8.3% | |
| 4 | Arcing | 4 | 6.7% | |
| 5 | Hot ember or ash | 3 | 5.0% | |
| 6 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 2 | 3.3% | |
| 7 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 1 | 1.7% | |
| 8 | Fireworks | 1 | 1.7% | |
| 9 | Heat from other open flame or smoking materials | 1 | 1.7% | |
| 10 | Multiple heat sources including multiple ignitions | 1 | 1.7% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Lyons departments in 2025. These 8 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $50,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 2 | $50,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $35,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 4 | $10,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 5 | $10,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 6 | $1,000 | Cooking fire, confined to container | Significant | Investigated |
| 7 | $1,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 8 | $250 | Special outside fire, other | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Lyons sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 6,291 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2015 | Misuse of fire by a minor | 750 | 40.6 mi | |
| 2003 | Natural | 600 | 40.1 mi | |
| 2003 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 450 | 40.6 mi | |
| 2002 | Railroad operations and maintenance | 396 | 31.1 mi | |
| 1993 | Railroad operations and maintenance | 341 | 31.1 mi | |
| 2012 | Railroad operations and maintenance | 291 | 30.5 mi | |
| 2019 | Railroad operations and maintenance | 274 | 31.9 mi | |
| 1995 | Debris and open burning | 253 | 31.5 mi | |
| 1996 | Railroad operations and maintenance | 244 | 31.0 mi | |
| 2003 | Debris and open burning | 232 | 36.0 mi | |
| 2019 | Railroad operations and maintenance | 216 | 31.2 mi | |
| 2003 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 204 | 30.3 mi |
Top 8 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 Lyons. 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.