In 2025, fire departments serving Nokomis responded to 62 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $150K building blaze. Here's the full picture.
Aircraft standby lead by count. Building fires lead by dollars. Together the top five categories make up about 71% of all calls.
Aug peaks. Dec dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
264 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2023. $927K cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 56 | — | |
| 2022 | 34 | -39.3% | |
| 2023 | 63 | +85.3% | |
| 2024 | 49 | -22.2% | |
| 2025 | 62 | +26.5% |
For the 15 building fires Nokomis departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 46 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 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 12 | 26.1% | |
| 2 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 11 | 23.9% | |
| 3 | Undetermined | 9 | 19.6% | |
| 4 | Bedroom - < 5 persons; included are jail or prison | 2 | 4.3% | |
| 5 | Outside area, other | 2 | 4.3% | |
| 6 | Other | 1 | 2.2% | |
| 7 | Heating room or area, water heater area | 1 | 2.2% | |
| 8 | Structural area, other | 1 | 2.2% | |
| 9 | Substructure area or space, crawl space | 1 | 2.2% | |
| 10 | Exterior balcony, unenclosed porch | 1 | 2.2% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 5 | 10.9% |
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 Nokomis mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 29 | 63.0% | |
| 2 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 5 | 10.9% | |
| 3 | Match | 5 | 10.9% | |
| 4 | Hot ember or ash | 4 | 8.7% | |
| 5 | Arcing | 1 | 2.2% | |
| 6 | Cigarette | 1 | 2.2% | |
| 7 | Heat spread from another fire, other | 1 | 2.2% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Nokomis departments in 2025. These 8 fires alone account for 99% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $150,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 2 | $20,000 | Mobile property (vehicle) fire, other | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $20,000 | Mobile property (vehicle) fire, other | Significant | Investigated |
| 4 | $15,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 5 | $10,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 6 | $5,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 7 | $1,000 | Cooking fire, confined to container | Significant | Investigated |
| 8 | $1,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Nokomis sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 1,475 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 | 200 | 32.6 mi | |
| 2009 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 160 | 10.8 mi | |
| 2013 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 100 | 27.3 mi | |
| 2013 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 80 | 45.9 mi | |
| 2009 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 80 | 20.2 mi | |
| 2014 | Debris and open burning | 80 | 16.5 mi | |
| 2014 | Debris and open burning | 80 | 10.2 mi | |
| 2008 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 75 | 31.5 mi | |
| 2010 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 75 | 48.6 mi | |
| 2009 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 60 | 25.9 mi | |
| 2014 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 60 | 38.3 mi | |
| 2003 | Debris and open burning | 50 | 13.4 mi |
Top 6 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 Nokomis. 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.