In 2025, fire departments serving McLeansboro responded to 42 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $400K 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 67% of all calls.
Feb peaks. Dec dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
135 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2025. $1.7M cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 21 | — | |
| 2022 | 20 | -4.8% | |
| 2023 | 21 | +5.0% | |
| 2024 | 31 | +47.6% | |
| 2025 | 42 | +35.5% |
For the 13 building fires McLeansboro departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 61 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 | Outside area, other | 10 | 16.4% | |
| 2 | Undetermined | 10 | 16.4% | |
| 3 | Cooking area, kitchen | 7 | 11.5% | |
| 4 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 7 | 11.5% | |
| 5 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 4 | 6.6% | |
| 6 | Bathroom, checkroom, lavatory, locker room | 3 | 4.9% | |
| 7 | Equipment or service area, other | 3 | 4.9% | |
| 8 | Exterior balcony, unenclosed porch | 3 | 4.9% | |
| 9 | Operator/passenger area of transportation equip. | 3 | 4.9% | |
| 10 | Common room, den, family room, living room, lounge | 2 | 3.3% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 9 | 14.8% |
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 McLeansboro mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 25 | 41.0% | |
| 2 | Cigarette lighter | 11 | 18.0% | |
| 3 | Arcing | 5 | 8.2% | |
| 4 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 4 | 6.6% | |
| 5 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 4 | 6.6% | |
| 6 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 3 | 4.9% | |
| 7 | Cigarette | 3 | 4.9% | |
| 8 | Heat spread from another fire, other | 2 | 3.3% | |
| 9 | Heat from other open flame or smoking materials | 1 | 1.6% | |
| 10 | Match | 1 | 1.6% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 2 | 3.3% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by McLeansboro departments in 2025. These 8 fires alone account for 98% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $400,000 | Off-road vehicle or heavy equipment fire | Major | Investigated |
| 2 | $80,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $30,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 4 | $25,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 5 | $15,000 | Fires in structures other than in a building | Significant | Investigated |
| 6 | $15,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 7 | $15,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 8 | $15,000 | Off-road vehicle or heavy equipment fire | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. McLeansboro sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 3,597 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2009 | Equipment and vehicle use | 1,000 | 14.8 mi | |
| 2007 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 225 | 36.9 mi | |
| 2020 | Equipment and vehicle use | 177 | 30.8 mi | |
| 2020 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 176 | 30.7 mi | |
| 2009 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 160 | 14.8 mi | |
| 2005 | Debris and open burning | 160 | 39.6 mi | |
| 2004 | Debris and open burning | 150 | 39.5 mi | |
| 2006 | Arson/incendiarism | 129 | 44.9 mi | |
| 2005 | Debris and open burning | 115 | 29.5 mi | |
| 2009 | Power generation/transmission/distribution | 115 | 36.0 mi | |
| 1994 | Arson/incendiarism | 110 | 34.4 mi | |
| 2007 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 100 | 28.5 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 McLeansboro. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
1 departments report to NFIRS for incidents in McLeansboro.
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.