In 2025, fire departments serving Newton responded to 51 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $750K building blaze. Here's the full picture.
Building fires lead by count. Building fires lead by dollars. Together the top five categories make up about 59% of all calls.
Mar peaks. Feb dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
203 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2023. $1.7M cumulative property loss. 1 civilian deaths.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 37 | — | |
| 2022 | 33 | -10.8% | |
| 2023 | 51 | +54.5% | |
| 2024 | 31 | -39.2% | |
| 2025 | 51 | +64.5% |
For the 16 building fires Newton departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 86 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 | 12 | 14.0% | |
| 2 | Undetermined | 11 | 12.8% | |
| 3 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 9 | 10.5% | |
| 4 | Outside area, other | 6 | 7.0% | |
| 5 | Highway, parking lot, street: on or near | 6 | 7.0% | |
| 6 | Common room, den, family room, living room, lounge | 3 | 3.5% | |
| 7 | Cooking area, kitchen | 3 | 3.5% | |
| 8 | Storage area, other | 3 | 3.5% | |
| 9 | Storage room, area, tank, or bin | 3 | 3.5% | |
| 10 | Attic: vacant, crawl space above top story, cupola | 3 | 3.5% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 27 | 31.4% |
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 Newton mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 42 | 48.8% | |
| 2 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 9 | 10.5% | |
| 3 | Heat spread from another fire, other | 6 | 7.0% | |
| 4 | Flying brand, ember, spark | 6 | 7.0% | |
| 5 | Arcing | 5 | 5.8% | |
| 6 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 4 | 4.7% | |
| 7 | Heat from direct flame, convection currents | 3 | 3.5% | |
| 8 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 2 | 2.3% | |
| 9 | Hot ember or ash | 2 | 2.3% | |
| 10 | Radiated heat from another fire | 2 | 2.3% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 5 | 5.8% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Newton departments in 2025. These 8 fires alone account for 97% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $750,000 | Building fires | Major | Investigated |
| 2 | $30,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $27,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 4 | $20,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 5 | $10,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 6 | $10,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 7 | $10,000 | Camper or recreational vehicle (RV) fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 8 | $5,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Newton sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 13 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 351 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 | 44.4 mi | |
| 2014 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 60 | 30.2 mi | |
| 2005 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 40 | 43.9 mi | |
| 2013 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 30 | 48.7 mi | |
| 2011 | Debris and open burning | 20 | 35.4 mi | |
| 2013 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 20 | 48.6 mi | |
| 2009 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 15 | 21.2 mi | |
| 2020 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 14 | 22.5 mi | |
| 2013 | Debris and open burning | 12 | 43.9 mi | |
| 2010 | Smoking | 10 | 23.3 mi | |
| 2020 | Debris and open burning | 10 | 20.7 mi | |
| 2003 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 10 | 42.9 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 Newton. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
1 departments report to NFIRS for incidents in Newton.
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.