In 2025, fire departments serving Norris City responded to 32 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $100K 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 69% of all calls.
Jan peaks. Apr dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
122 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2024. $2.9M cumulative property loss. 2 civilian deaths.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021* | 8 | — | |
| 2022 | 31 | — | |
| 2023 | 19 | -38.7% | |
| 2024 | 32 | +68.4% | |
| 2025 | 32 | +0.0% |
* Well below Norris City's usual volume. That almost always means one or more departments didn't submit a full year to NFIRS, not that fires dropped, so no year-over-year change is shown for it.
For the 9 building fires Norris City departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 50 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 | 48.0% | |
| 2 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 4 | 8.0% | |
| 3 | Storage area, other | 3 | 6.0% | |
| 4 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 3 | 6.0% | |
| 5 | Common room, den, family room, living room, lounge | 2 | 4.0% | |
| 6 | Storage: supplies or tools; dead storage | 2 | 4.0% | |
| 7 | Exterior balcony, unenclosed porch | 2 | 4.0% | |
| 8 | Vehicle area, other | 2 | 4.0% | |
| 9 | Outside area, other | 2 | 4.0% | |
| 10 | Other | 1 | 2.0% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 5 | 10.0% |
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 Norris City mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 31 | 62.0% | |
| 2 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 4 | 8.0% | |
| 3 | Arcing | 3 | 6.0% | |
| 4 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 3 | 6.0% | |
| 5 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 2 | 4.0% | |
| 6 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 1 | 2.0% | |
| 7 | Heat, spark from friction | 1 | 2.0% | |
| 8 | Hot ember or ash | 1 | 2.0% | |
| 9 | Heat from other open flame or smoking materials | 1 | 2.0% | |
| 10 | Heat from undetermined smoking material | 1 | 2.0% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 2 | 4.0% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Norris City departments in 2025. These 8 fires alone account for 99% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $100,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 2 | $60,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $60,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 4 | $40,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 5 | $20,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 6 | $18,000 | Fire in motor home, camper, recreational vehicle | Significant | Investigated |
| 7 | $10,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 8 | $5,000 | Mobile property (vehicle) fire, other | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Norris City sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 3,757 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2009 | Equipment and vehicle use | 1,000 | 13.2 mi | |
| 2007 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 225 | 48.6 mi | |
| 2000 | Arson/incendiarism | 180 | 48.4 mi | |
| 2020 | Equipment and vehicle use | 177 | 20.9 mi | |
| 2020 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 176 | 21.2 mi | |
| 2009 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 160 | 13.0 mi | |
| 2010 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 150 | 47.3 mi | |
| 2006 | Arson/incendiarism | 129 | 39.8 mi | |
| 2012 | Debris and open burning | 122 | 49.9 mi | |
| 2005 | Debris and open burning | 115 | 21.5 mi | |
| 2009 | Power generation/transmission/distribution | 115 | 28.0 mi | |
| 1994 | Arson/incendiarism | 110 | 26.8 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 Norris City. 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.