In 2025, fire departments serving Malta responded to 20 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $50K 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 70% of all calls.
Aug peaks. Jun dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
153 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2024. $61K cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 33 | — | |
| 2022 | 32 | -3.0% | |
| 2023 | 31 | -3.1% | |
| 2024 | 37 | +19.4% | |
| 2025 | 20 | -45.9% |
For the 5 building fires Malta departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 25 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 | 15 | 60.0% | |
| 2 | Outside area, other | 3 | 12.0% | |
| 3 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 2 | 8.0% | |
| 4 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 2 | 8.0% | |
| 5 | Other | 1 | 4.0% | |
| 6 | Laboratory | 1 | 4.0% | |
| 7 | Incinerator area | 1 | 4.0% |
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 Malta mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 17 | 68.0% | |
| 2 | Heat source: other | 2 | 8.0% | |
| 3 | Flame/torch used for lighting | 2 | 8.0% | |
| 4 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 1 | 4.0% | |
| 5 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 1 | 4.0% | |
| 6 | Heat from direct flame, convection currents | 1 | 4.0% | |
| 7 | Conducted heat from another fire | 1 | 4.0% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Malta departments in 2025. These 2 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $50,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 2 | $500 | Brush, or brush and grass mixture fire | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Malta sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 1,952 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 500 | 46.0 mi | |
| 2012 | Debris and open burning | 210 | 41.3 mi | |
| 2014 | Debris and open burning | 200 | 44.2 mi | |
| 2010 | Debris and open burning | 100 | 17.1 mi | |
| 2012 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 80 | 44.4 mi | |
| 2003 | Recreation and ceremony | 75 | 20.6 mi | |
| 2010 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 70 | 16.2 mi | |
| 2017 | Natural | 60 | 41.1 mi | |
| 2014 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 52 | 30.9 mi | |
| 2008 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 50 | 28.6 mi | |
| 2014 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 50 | 27.9 mi | |
| 2013 | Debris and open burning | 50 | 35.4 mi |
Top 2 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 Malta. 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.