In 2025, fire departments serving Oblong responded to 26 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $59K 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 54% of all calls.
Apr peaks. Feb dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
177 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2024. $605K cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021* | 19 | — | |
| 2022 | 39 | — | |
| 2023 | 41 | +5.1% | |
| 2024 | 52 | +26.8% | |
| 2025 | 26 | -50.0% |
* Well below Oblong'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 4 building fires Oblong departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 55 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 | 21.8% | |
| 2 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 12 | 21.8% | |
| 3 | Common room, den, family room, living room, lounge | 4 | 7.3% | |
| 4 | Storage area, other | 3 | 5.5% | |
| 5 | Undetermined | 3 | 5.5% | |
| 6 | Bedroom - < 5 persons; included are jail or prison | 2 | 3.6% | |
| 7 | Ceiling & floor assembly, crawl space b/t stories | 2 | 3.6% | |
| 8 | Attic: vacant, crawl space above top story, cupola | 2 | 3.6% | |
| 9 | Vehicle area, other | 2 | 3.6% | |
| 10 | Operator/passenger area of transportation equip. | 2 | 3.6% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 11 | 20.0% |
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 Oblong mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 22 | 40.0% | |
| 2 | Arcing | 9 | 16.4% | |
| 3 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 7 | 12.7% | |
| 4 | Hot ember or ash | 5 | 9.1% | |
| 5 | Heat, spark from friction | 3 | 5.5% | |
| 6 | Heat from other open flame or smoking materials | 3 | 5.5% | |
| 7 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 2 | 3.6% | |
| 8 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 1 | 1.8% | |
| 9 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 1 | 1.8% | |
| 10 | Flame/torch used for lighting | 1 | 1.8% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 1 | 1.8% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Oblong departments in 2025. These 6 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $58,900 | Off-road vehicle or heavy equipment fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 2 | $15,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $14,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 4 | $2,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 5 | $500 | Off-road vehicle or heavy equipment fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 6 | $300 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Oblong sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 18 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 572 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2003 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 150 | 40.4 mi | |
| 2003 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 100 | 40.8 mi | |
| 2014 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 60 | 40.5 mi | |
| 2010 | Debris and open burning | 43 | 47.2 mi | |
| 2005 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 40 | 33.7 mi | |
| 2001 | Recreation and ceremony | 20 | 44.9 mi | |
| 2011 | Debris and open burning | 20 | 24.8 mi | |
| 2007 | Arson/incendiarism | 20 | 41.4 mi | |
| 2004 | Arson/incendiarism | 20 | 40.4 mi | |
| 2009 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 15 | 34.2 mi | |
| 2020 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 14 | 35.9 mi | |
| 2010 | Smoking | 10 | 35.4 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 Oblong. 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.