In 2025, fire departments serving North Pekin responded to 14 fire and hazmat incidents . Here's the full picture.
Building fires lead by count. Building fires lead by dollars. Together the top five categories make up about 93% of all calls.
Sep peaks. Jan dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
74 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2021.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 21 | — | |
| 2022 | 14 | -33.3% | |
| 2023 | 12 | -14.3% | |
| 2024 | 13 | +8.3% | |
| 2025 | 14 | +7.7% |
For the 4 building fires North Pekin departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 1 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 | 1 | 100.0% |
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 North Pekin mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 1 | 100.0% |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. North Pekin sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 1,718 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 | 20.3 mi | |
| 1999 | Debris and open burning | 250 | 32.3 mi | |
| 2018 | Debris and open burning | 200 | 16.8 mi | |
| 2018 | Equipment and vehicle use | 80 | 35.2 mi | |
| 2010 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 75 | 45.2 mi | |
| 2014 | Debris and open burning | 60 | 33.8 mi | |
| 2010 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 60 | 46.4 mi | |
| 2014 | Debris and open burning | 51 | 35.0 mi | |
| 2014 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 50 | 36.0 mi | |
| 2010 | Debris and open burning | 50 | 44.4 mi | |
| 2018 | Debris and open burning | 45 | 35.6 mi | |
| 2012 | Equipment and vehicle use | 40 | 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 North Pekin. 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.