In 2025, fire departments serving Monticello responded to 87 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $150K 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 68% of all calls.
Mar peaks. Jan dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
380 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2025. $1.4M cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 51 | — | |
| 2022 | 73 | +43.1% | |
| 2023 | 86 | +17.8% | |
| 2024 | 83 | -3.5% | |
| 2025 | 87 | +4.8% |
For the 8 building fires Monticello departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 84 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 | 26 | 31.0% | |
| 2 | Undetermined | 15 | 17.9% | |
| 3 | Cooking area, kitchen | 8 | 9.5% | |
| 4 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 8 | 9.5% | |
| 5 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 6 | 7.1% | |
| 6 | Vehicle storage area; garage, carport | 3 | 3.6% | |
| 7 | Chute/container - trash, rubbish, waste | 2 | 2.4% | |
| 8 | Other | 1 | 1.2% | |
| 9 | Corridor, mall | 1 | 1.2% | |
| 10 | Function area, other | 1 | 1.2% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 13 | 15.5% |
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 Monticello mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 45 | 53.6% | |
| 2 | Hot ember or ash | 6 | 7.1% | |
| 3 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 5 | 6.0% | |
| 4 | Heat source: other | 4 | 4.8% | |
| 5 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 4 | 4.8% | |
| 6 | Arcing | 3 | 3.6% | |
| 7 | Heat from undetermined smoking material | 3 | 3.6% | |
| 8 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 2 | 2.4% | |
| 9 | Match | 2 | 2.4% | |
| 10 | Chemical, natural heat source, other | 2 | 2.4% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 8 | 9.5% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Monticello departments in 2025. These 6 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $150,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 2 | $150,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $10,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 4 | $5,000 | Outside equipment fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 5 | $5,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 6 | $2,000 | Brush, or brush and grass mixture fire | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Monticello sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 879 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2013 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 100 | 44.9 mi | |
| 2018 | Equipment and vehicle use | 80 | 43.0 mi | |
| 2010 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 75 | 49.6 mi | |
| 2014 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 50 | 32.2 mi | |
| 2007 | Equipment and vehicle use | 50 | 18.6 mi | |
| 2010 | Debris and open burning | 50 | 43.0 mi | |
| 2014 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 50 | 28.5 mi | |
| 2010 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 40 | 44.2 mi | |
| 2015 | Debris and open burning | 40 | 25.2 mi | |
| 2007 | Equipment and vehicle use | 35 | 18.6 mi | |
| 2009 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 30 | 10.0 mi | |
| 2013 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 30 | 36.2 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 Monticello. 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.