In 2025, fire departments serving Odell responded to 28 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $1.0M building blaze. Here's the full picture.
Grass fire lead by count. Building fires lead by dollars. Together the top five categories make up about 50% of all calls.
Oct peaks. Jun dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
113 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2025. $3.3M cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 21 | — | |
| 2022 | 23 | +9.5% | |
| 2023 | 20 | -13.0% | |
| 2024 | 21 | +5.0% | |
| 2025 | 28 | +33.3% |
For the 2 building fires Odell departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 32 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 | 13 | 40.6% | |
| 2 | Undetermined | 6 | 18.8% | |
| 3 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 4 | 12.5% | |
| 4 | Cooking area, kitchen | 2 | 6.2% | |
| 5 | Attic: vacant, crawl space above top story, cupola | 2 | 6.2% | |
| 6 | Outside area, other | 2 | 6.2% | |
| 7 | Bedroom - < 5 persons; included are jail or prison | 1 | 3.1% | |
| 8 | Equipment or service area, other | 1 | 3.1% | |
| 9 | Cargo/trunk area - all vehicles | 1 | 3.1% |
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 Odell mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 22 | 68.8% | |
| 2 | Hot ember or ash | 3 | 9.4% | |
| 3 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 2 | 6.2% | |
| 4 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 1 | 3.1% | |
| 5 | Arcing | 1 | 3.1% | |
| 6 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 1 | 3.1% | |
| 7 | Molten, hot material | 1 | 3.1% | |
| 8 | Flame/torch used for lighting | 1 | 3.1% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Odell departments in 2025. These 5 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $1,000,000 | Fire, other | Major | Investigated |
| 2 | $5,500 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $1,000 | Off-road vehicle or heavy equipment fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 4 | $500 | Off-road vehicle or heavy equipment fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 5 | $250 | Cooking fire, confined to container | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Odell sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 2,540 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2003 | Natural | 600 | 26.8 mi | |
| 2003 | Debris and open burning | 232 | 30.9 mi | |
| 2012 | Debris and open burning | 210 | 33.8 mi | |
| 2014 | Debris and open burning | 200 | 42.7 mi | |
| 2009 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 150 | 21.0 mi | |
| 2020 | Debris and open burning | 110 | 33.2 mi | |
| 2009 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 100 | 20.6 mi | |
| 2010 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 75 | 17.5 mi | |
| 2009 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 70 | 23.1 mi | |
| 2016 | Natural | 67 | 30.7 mi | |
| 2014 | Debris and open burning | 60 | 35.5 mi | |
| 2010 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 60 | 35.9 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 Odell. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
1 departments report to NFIRS for incidents in Odell.
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.