In 2025, fire departments serving Monmouth responded to 243 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $485K building blaze. Here's the full picture.
Power line down lead by count. Building fires lead by dollars. Together the top five categories make up about 68% of all calls.
Apr peaks. Jan dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
1,024 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2025. $2.5M cumulative property loss. 1 civilian deaths.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 202 | — | |
| 2022 | 158 | -21.8% | |
| 2023 | 194 | +22.8% | |
| 2024 | 227 | +17.0% | |
| 2025 | 243 | +7.0% |
For the 17 building fires Monmouth departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 124 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 | 24 | 19.4% | |
| 2 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 13 | 10.5% | |
| 3 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 12 | 9.7% | |
| 4 | Cooking area, kitchen | 11 | 8.9% | |
| 5 | Other | 8 | 6.5% | |
| 6 | Outside area, other | 6 | 4.8% | |
| 7 | Bedroom - < 5 persons; included are jail or prison | 5 | 4.0% | |
| 8 | Vehicle storage area; garage, carport | 4 | 3.2% | |
| 9 | Vehicle area, other | 4 | 3.2% | |
| 10 | Common room, den, family room, living room, lounge | 3 | 2.4% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 34 | 27.4% |
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 Monmouth mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 57 | 46.0% | |
| 2 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 11 | 8.9% | |
| 3 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 8 | 6.5% | |
| 4 | Heat source: other | 6 | 4.8% | |
| 5 | Hot ember or ash | 6 | 4.8% | |
| 6 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 5 | 4.0% | |
| 7 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 4 | 3.2% | |
| 8 | Arcing | 4 | 3.2% | |
| 9 | Heat, spark from friction | 3 | 2.4% | |
| 10 | Heat spread from another fire, other | 3 | 2.4% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 17 | 13.7% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Monmouth departments in 2025. These 8 fires alone account for 96% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $485,000 | Off-road vehicle or heavy equipment fire | Major | Investigated |
| 2 | $200,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $100,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 4 | $70,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 5 | $30,000 | Off-road vehicle or heavy equipment fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 6 | $20,000 | Cultivated grain or crop fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 7 | $20,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 8 | $20,000 | Fire in mobile home used as fixed residence | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Monmouth sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 7,946 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2015 | Debris and open burning | 1,500 | 49.3 mi | |
| 2003 | Recreation and ceremony | 1,200 | 33.4 mi | |
| 2000 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 832 | 33.4 mi | |
| 2003 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 820 | 33.4 mi | |
| 2003 | Arson/incendiarism | 630 | 33.4 mi | |
| 1996 | Debris and open burning | 333 | 27.6 mi | |
| 2000 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 282 | 33.4 mi | |
| 1999 | Debris and open burning | 250 | 48.7 mi | |
| 2000 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 232 | 33.4 mi | |
| 2018 | Debris and open burning | 200 | 44.1 mi | |
| 2018 | Debris and open burning | 180 | 28.6 mi | |
| 2000 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 174 | 33.4 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 Monmouth. 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.