In 2025, fire departments serving Machesney Park responded to 183 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 61% of all calls.
Nov peaks. Feb dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
863 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2023. $3.2M cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 132 | — | |
| 2022 | 163 | +23.5% | |
| 2023 | 206 | +26.4% | |
| 2024 | 179 | -13.1% | |
| 2025 | 183 | +2.2% |
For the 37 building fires Machesney Park departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 180 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 | 33 | 18.3% | |
| 2 | Outside area, other | 24 | 13.3% | |
| 3 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 23 | 12.8% | |
| 4 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 14 | 7.8% | |
| 5 | Vehicle storage area; garage, carport | 11 | 6.1% | |
| 6 | Cooking area, kitchen | 10 | 5.6% | |
| 7 | Highway, parking lot, street: on or near | 6 | 3.3% | |
| 8 | Bedroom - < 5 persons; included are jail or prison | 5 | 2.8% | |
| 9 | Bathroom, checkroom, lavatory, locker room | 5 | 2.8% | |
| 10 | Exterior balcony, unenclosed porch | 5 | 2.8% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 44 | 24.4% |
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 Machesney Park mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 80 | 44.4% | |
| 2 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 18 | 10.0% | |
| 3 | Hot ember or ash | 14 | 7.8% | |
| 4 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 13 | 7.2% | |
| 5 | Arcing | 10 | 5.6% | |
| 6 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 9 | 5.0% | |
| 7 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 6 | 3.3% | |
| 8 | Cigarette | 6 | 3.3% | |
| 9 | Heat from other open flame or smoking materials | 4 | 2.2% | |
| 10 | Heat source: other | 3 | 1.7% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 17 | 9.4% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Machesney Park departments in 2025. These 8 fires alone account for 96% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $60,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 2 | $25,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $5,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 4 | $5,000 | Fuel burner/boiler malfunction, fire confined | Significant | Investigated |
| 5 | $5,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 6 | $5,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 7 | $5,000 | Outside rubbish, trash or waste fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 8 | $3,500 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Machesney Park sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 4,720 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | Equipment and vehicle use | 1,100 | 30.1 mi | |
| 2009 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 617 | 38.3 mi | |
| 1999 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 580 | 29.4 mi | |
| 2016 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 500 | 17.8 mi | |
| 2012 | Arson/incendiarism | 254 | 45.7 mi | |
| 2018 | Debris and open burning | 252 | 46.6 mi | |
| 2004 | Smoking | 169 | 30.0 mi | |
| 2010 | Debris and open burning | 100 | 26.6 mi | |
| 2004 | Recreation and ceremony | 100 | 37.8 mi | |
| 2018 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 100 | 47.1 mi | |
| 2006 | Smoking | 81 | 48.5 mi | |
| 2010 | Equipment and vehicle use | 80 | 47.2 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 Machesney Park. 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.