In 2025, fire departments serving Monee responded to 151 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $80K 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 59% of all calls.
Mar peaks. Dec dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
557 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2025. $2.2M cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 97 | — | |
| 2022 | 87 | -10.3% | |
| 2023 | 108 | +24.1% | |
| 2024 | 114 | +5.6% | |
| 2025 | 151 | +32.5% |
For the 17 building fires Monee departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 104 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 | 26 | 25.0% | |
| 2 | Undetermined | 16 | 15.4% | |
| 3 | Cargo/trunk area - all vehicles | 8 | 7.7% | |
| 4 | Vehicle area, other | 6 | 5.8% | |
| 5 | Outside area, other | 6 | 5.8% | |
| 6 | Cooking area, kitchen | 4 | 3.8% | |
| 7 | Laundry area, wash house (laundry) | 3 | 2.9% | |
| 8 | Other | 2 | 1.9% | |
| 9 | Egress/exit, other | 2 | 1.9% | |
| 10 | Storage area, other | 2 | 1.9% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 29 | 27.9% |
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 Monee mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 51 | 49.0% | |
| 2 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 13 | 12.5% | |
| 3 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 6 | 5.8% | |
| 4 | Heat source: other | 5 | 4.8% | |
| 5 | Heat, spark from friction | 4 | 3.8% | |
| 6 | Hot ember or ash | 4 | 3.8% | |
| 7 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 3 | 2.9% | |
| 8 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 3 | 2.9% | |
| 9 | Match | 3 | 2.9% | |
| 10 | Sunlight | 3 | 2.9% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 9 | 8.7% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Monee departments in 2025. These 8 fires alone account for 99% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $80,000 | Road freight or transport vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 2 | $60,000 | Mobile property (vehicle) fire, other | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $15,000 | Mobile property (vehicle) fire, other | Significant | Investigated |
| 4 | $10,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 5 | $5,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 6 | $5,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 7 | $2,500 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 8 | $2,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Monee sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 5,306 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2003 | Natural | 600 | 27.5 mi | |
| 2002 | Railroad operations and maintenance | 396 | 27.4 mi | |
| 1993 | Railroad operations and maintenance | 341 | 27.5 mi | |
| 2012 | Railroad operations and maintenance | 291 | 26.8 mi | |
| 2019 | Railroad operations and maintenance | 274 | 28.8 mi | |
| 1995 | Debris and open burning | 253 | 25.8 mi | |
| 1996 | Railroad operations and maintenance | 244 | 27.3 mi | |
| 2003 | Debris and open burning | 232 | 22.2 mi | |
| 2019 | Railroad operations and maintenance | 216 | 27.5 mi | |
| 2003 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 204 | 26.4 mi | |
| 1994 | Railroad operations and maintenance | 191 | 27.9 mi | |
| 1994 | Railroad operations and maintenance | 190 | 25.9 mi |
Top 10 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 Monee. 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.