In 2025, fire departments serving Metamora responded to 56 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $400K 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 72% of all calls.
Nov peaks. Aug dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
223 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2021. $2.4M cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 64 | — | |
| 2022* | 25 | — | |
| 2023 | 45 | — | |
| 2024 | 33 | -26.7% | |
| 2025 | 56 | +69.7% |
* Well below Metamora'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 4 building fires Metamora departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 60 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 | 16 | 26.7% | |
| 2 | Outside area, other | 13 | 21.7% | |
| 3 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 8 | 13.3% | |
| 4 | Common room, den, family room, living room, lounge | 6 | 10.0% | |
| 5 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 6 | 10.0% | |
| 6 | Other | 3 | 5.0% | |
| 7 | Heating room or area, water heater area | 2 | 3.3% | |
| 8 | Bedroom - < 5 persons; included are jail or prison | 1 | 1.7% | |
| 9 | Cooking area, kitchen | 1 | 1.7% | |
| 10 | Exterior balcony, unenclosed porch | 1 | 1.7% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 3 | 5.0% |
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 Metamora mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 31 | 51.7% | |
| 2 | Heat source: other | 5 | 8.3% | |
| 3 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 5 | 8.3% | |
| 4 | Match | 4 | 6.7% | |
| 5 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 3 | 5.0% | |
| 6 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 2 | 3.3% | |
| 7 | Hot ember or ash | 2 | 3.3% | |
| 8 | Heat from other open flame or smoking materials | 2 | 3.3% | |
| 9 | Flame/torch used for lighting | 2 | 3.3% | |
| 10 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 1 | 1.7% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 3 | 5.0% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Metamora departments in 2025. These 8 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $400,000 | Fire, other | Major | Investigated |
| 2 | $250,000 | Fire, other | Major | Investigated |
| 3 | $100,000 | Fire, other | Significant | Investigated |
| 4 | $50,000 | Fire, other | Significant | Investigated |
| 5 | $20,000 | Fire, other | Significant | Investigated |
| 6 | $20,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 7 | $10,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 8 | $5,000 | Fire, other | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Metamora sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 2,036 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2012 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 375 | 38.6 mi | |
| 2012 | Debris and open burning | 210 | 42.4 mi | |
| 2018 | Debris and open burning | 200 | 23.2 mi | |
| 2014 | Debris and open burning | 200 | 38.7 mi | |
| 2020 | Debris and open burning | 110 | 33.0 mi | |
| 2018 | Equipment and vehicle use | 80 | 45.4 mi | |
| 2010 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 75 | 45.4 mi | |
| 2014 | Debris and open burning | 60 | 15.6 mi | |
| 2010 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 60 | 29.0 mi | |
| 2017 | Natural | 60 | 42.3 mi | |
| 2014 | Debris and open burning | 51 | 16.6 mi | |
| 2014 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 50 | 37.9 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 Metamora. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
1 departments report to NFIRS for incidents in Metamora.
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.