In 2025, fire departments serving Mendota responded to 142 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $600K building blaze. Here's the full picture.
Gas leak (natural gas or LPG) lead by count. Building fires lead by dollars. Together the top five categories make up about 54% of all calls.
Jul peaks. Feb dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
538 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2025. $986K cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 87 | — | |
| 2022 | 99 | +13.8% | |
| 2023 | 104 | +5.1% | |
| 2024 | 106 | +1.9% | |
| 2025 | 142 | +34.0% |
For the 12 building fires Mendota departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 74 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 | 18 | 24.3% | |
| 2 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 8 | 10.8% | |
| 3 | Outside area, other | 7 | 9.5% | |
| 4 | Undetermined | 6 | 8.1% | |
| 5 | Other | 5 | 6.8% | |
| 6 | Highway, parking lot, street: on or near | 4 | 5.4% | |
| 7 | Cooking area, kitchen | 3 | 4.1% | |
| 8 | Wall surface: exterior | 3 | 4.1% | |
| 9 | Operator/passenger area of transportation equip. | 3 | 4.1% | |
| 10 | Vehicle storage area; garage, carport | 2 | 2.7% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 15 | 20.3% |
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 Mendota mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 27 | 36.5% | |
| 2 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 10 | 13.5% | |
| 3 | Heat, spark from friction | 9 | 12.2% | |
| 4 | Hot ember or ash | 5 | 6.8% | |
| 5 | Flying brand, ember, spark | 5 | 6.8% | |
| 6 | Heat source: other | 4 | 5.4% | |
| 7 | Arcing | 3 | 4.1% | |
| 8 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 2 | 2.7% | |
| 9 | Molten, hot material | 2 | 2.7% | |
| 10 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 1 | 1.4% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 6 | 8.1% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Mendota departments in 2025. These 8 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $600,000 | Building fires | Major | Investigated |
| 2 | $15,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $15,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 4 | $7,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 5 | $7,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 6 | $5,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 7 | $5,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 8 | $2,000 | Mobile property (vehicle) fire, other | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Mendota sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 2,632 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2003 | Natural | 600 | 45.7 mi | |
| 2003 | Debris and open burning | 232 | 50.0 mi | |
| 2012 | Debris and open burning | 210 | 16.0 mi | |
| 2014 | Debris and open burning | 200 | 15.7 mi | |
| 2009 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 150 | 49.1 mi | |
| 2020 | Debris and open burning | 110 | 23.0 mi | |
| 2010 | Debris and open burning | 100 | 31.0 mi | |
| 2009 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 100 | 50.0 mi | |
| 2003 | Recreation and ceremony | 75 | 45.6 mi | |
| 2010 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 70 | 30.3 mi | |
| 2016 | Natural | 67 | 49.6 mi | |
| 2014 | Debris and open burning | 60 | 39.8 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 Mendota. 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.