In 2025, fire departments serving Mazon responded to 70 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $3K 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 73% of all calls.
Mar peaks. Aug dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
275 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2025. $442K cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 54 | — | |
| 2022 | 52 | -3.7% | |
| 2023 | 49 | -5.8% | |
| 2024 | 50 | +2.0% | |
| 2025 | 70 | +40.0% |
For the 19 building fires Mazon 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 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 6 | 24.0% | |
| 2 | Other | 3 | 12.0% | |
| 3 | Vehicle area, other | 3 | 12.0% | |
| 4 | Undetermined | 3 | 12.0% | |
| 5 | Exterior stairway, ramp, or fire escape | 1 | 4.0% | |
| 6 | Common room, den, family room, living room, lounge | 1 | 4.0% | |
| 7 | Bedroom - 5+ persons; including barrack/dormitory | 1 | 4.0% | |
| 8 | Laundry area, wash house (laundry) | 1 | 4.0% | |
| 9 | Vehicle storage area; garage, carport | 1 | 4.0% | |
| 10 | Attic: vacant, crawl space above top story, cupola | 1 | 4.0% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 4 | 16.0% |
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 Mazon mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 11 | 44.0% | |
| 2 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 4 | 16.0% | |
| 3 | Heat source: other | 3 | 12.0% | |
| 4 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 3 | 12.0% | |
| 5 | Arcing | 3 | 12.0% | |
| 6 | Flame/torch used for lighting | 1 | 4.0% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Mazon departments in 2025. These 1 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $2,500 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Mazon sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 2,550 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2003 | Natural | 600 | 10.5 mi | |
| 2003 | Debris and open burning | 232 | 15.5 mi | |
| 2012 | Debris and open burning | 210 | 30.3 mi | |
| 2014 | Debris and open burning | 200 | 41.4 mi | |
| 2009 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 150 | 8.5 mi | |
| 2020 | Debris and open burning | 110 | 34.6 mi | |
| 2009 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 100 | 9.1 mi | |
| 2010 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 75 | 34.2 mi | |
| 2009 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 70 | 10.4 mi | |
| 2016 | Natural | 67 | 15.2 mi | |
| 2014 | Debris and open burning | 60 | 44.4 mi | |
| 2010 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 60 | 38.8 mi |
Top 4 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 Mazon. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
1 departments report to NFIRS for incidents in Mazon.
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.