In 2025, fire departments serving Normal responded to 334 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $350K 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 60% of all calls.
Mar peaks. Dec dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
1,664 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2021. $10.6M cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 355 | — | |
| 2022 | 306 | -13.8% | |
| 2023 | 341 | +11.4% | |
| 2024 | 328 | -3.8% | |
| 2025 | 334 | +1.8% |
For the 20 building fires Normal departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 330 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 | 50 | 15.2% | |
| 2 | Undetermined | 48 | 14.5% | |
| 3 | Cooking area, kitchen | 42 | 12.7% | |
| 4 | Outside area, other | 34 | 10.3% | |
| 5 | Highway, parking lot, street: on or near | 16 | 4.8% | |
| 6 | Laundry area, wash house (laundry) | 11 | 3.3% | |
| 7 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 10 | 3.0% | |
| 8 | Exterior balcony, unenclosed porch | 9 | 2.7% | |
| 9 | Vehicle area, other | 9 | 2.7% | |
| 10 | Bedroom - < 5 persons; included are jail or prison | 8 | 2.4% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 93 | 28.2% |
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 Normal mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 123 | 37.3% | |
| 2 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 44 | 13.3% | |
| 3 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 24 | 7.3% | |
| 4 | Heat source: other | 22 | 6.7% | |
| 5 | Hot ember or ash | 19 | 5.8% | |
| 6 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 16 | 4.8% | |
| 7 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 11 | 3.3% | |
| 8 | Arcing | 9 | 2.7% | |
| 9 | Heat from other open flame or smoking materials | 9 | 2.7% | |
| 10 | Cigarette | 9 | 2.7% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 44 | 13.3% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Normal departments in 2025. These 8 fires alone account for 89% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $350,000 | Road freight or transport vehicle fire | Major | Investigated |
| 2 | $300,000 | Building fires | Major | Investigated |
| 3 | $300,000 | Outside equipment fire | Major | Investigated |
| 4 | $100,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 5 | $100,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 6 | $70,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 7 | $70,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 8 | $60,000 | Off-road vehicle or heavy equipment fire | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Normal sits below the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 1,651 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 | 375 | 47.2 mi | |
| 2018 | Debris and open burning | 200 | 47.4 mi | |
| 2020 | Debris and open burning | 110 | 48.7 mi | |
| 2018 | Equipment and vehicle use | 80 | 33.4 mi | |
| 2010 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 75 | 30.0 mi | |
| 2014 | Debris and open burning | 60 | 33.9 mi | |
| 2010 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 60 | 46.9 mi | |
| 2014 | Debris and open burning | 51 | 32.2 mi | |
| 2014 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 50 | 16.7 mi | |
| 2010 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 50 | 31.7 mi | |
| 2010 | Debris and open burning | 50 | 13.7 mi | |
| 2014 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 50 | 45.2 mi |
Top 3 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 Normal. 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.