In 2025, fire departments serving Martinsville responded to 31 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $1.5M building blaze. Here's the full picture.
Fire, other lead by count. Building fires lead by dollars. Together the top five categories make up about 61% of all calls.
Dec peaks. May dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
128 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2024. $6.2M cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021* | 14 | — | |
| 2022 | 25 | — | |
| 2023 | 26 | +4.0% | |
| 2024 | 32 | +23.1% | |
| 2025 | 31 | -3.1% |
* Well below Martinsville's usual volume. That almost always means one or more departments didn't submit a full year to NFIRS, not that fires dropped, so no year-over-year change is shown for it.
For the 5 building fires Martinsville departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 53 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 | 16 | 30.2% | |
| 2 | Undetermined | 12 | 22.6% | |
| 3 | Other | 3 | 5.7% | |
| 4 | Multiple areas | 3 | 5.7% | |
| 5 | Vehicle area, other | 2 | 3.8% | |
| 6 | Outside area, other | 2 | 3.8% | |
| 7 | Common room, den, family room, living room, lounge | 1 | 1.9% | |
| 8 | Function area, other | 1 | 1.9% | |
| 9 | Cooking area, kitchen | 1 | 1.9% | |
| 10 | Bathroom, checkroom, lavatory, locker room | 1 | 1.9% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 11 | 20.8% |
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 Martinsville mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 24 | 45.3% | |
| 2 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 8 | 15.1% | |
| 3 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 7 | 13.2% | |
| 4 | Hot ember or ash | 3 | 5.7% | |
| 5 | Heat source: other | 2 | 3.8% | |
| 6 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 2 | 3.8% | |
| 7 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 2 | 3.8% | |
| 8 | Heat, spark from friction | 2 | 3.8% | |
| 9 | Molten, hot material | 1 | 1.9% | |
| 10 | Cigarette lighter | 1 | 1.9% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 1 | 1.9% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Martinsville departments in 2025. These 8 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $1,500,000 | Fire, other | Major | Investigated |
| 2 | $250,000 | Fire, other | Major | Investigated |
| 3 | $200,000 | Road freight or transport vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 4 | $100,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 5 | $85,000 | Off-road vehicle or heavy equipment fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 6 | $85,000 | Fire in motor home, camper, recreational vehicle | Significant | Investigated |
| 7 | $70,000 | Road freight or transport vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 8 | $25,000 | Fire, other | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Martinsville sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 18 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 671 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2003 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 150 | 25.0 mi | |
| 2013 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 100 | 48.9 mi | |
| 2003 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 100 | 25.5 mi | |
| 2014 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 60 | 36.9 mi | |
| 2001 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 40 | 45.6 mi | |
| 2005 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 40 | 19.1 mi | |
| 2013 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 30 | 48.1 mi | |
| 2011 | Debris and open burning | 20 | 43.7 mi | |
| 2007 | Arson/incendiarism | 20 | 42.5 mi | |
| 2004 | Arson/incendiarism | 20 | 41.2 mi | |
| 2009 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 15 | 48.2 mi | |
| 2020 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 14 | 42.6 mi |
Top 1 ZIP codes by NFIRS incident count across 2021–2025. Each ZIP has its own fire profile — dive in for neighborhood-level context.
| # | ZIP | 5-yr incidents | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 62442 | 128 |
Six Illinois cities with population within ±25% of Martinsville. 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.