In 2025, fire departments serving Okawville responded to 15 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $400K 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 80% of all calls.
Jan peaks. Feb dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
116 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2023. $486K cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 26 | — | |
| 2022 | 22 | -15.4% | |
| 2023 | 28 | +27.3% | |
| 2024 | 25 | -10.7% | |
| 2025 | 15 | -40.0% |
For the 3 building fires Okawville departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 57 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 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 15 | 26.3% | |
| 2 | Undetermined | 10 | 17.5% | |
| 3 | Vehicle area, other | 8 | 14.0% | |
| 4 | Outside area, other | 8 | 14.0% | |
| 5 | Highway, parking lot, street: on or near | 6 | 10.5% | |
| 6 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 4 | 7.0% | |
| 7 | Storage: supplies or tools; dead storage | 2 | 3.5% | |
| 8 | Chute/container - trash, rubbish, waste | 2 | 3.5% | |
| 9 | Cooking area, kitchen | 1 | 1.8% | |
| 10 | Vehicle storage area; garage, carport | 1 | 1.8% |
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 Okawville mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 52 | 91.2% | |
| 2 | Heat source: other | 1 | 1.8% | |
| 3 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 1 | 1.8% | |
| 4 | Heat, spark from friction | 1 | 1.8% | |
| 5 | Hot ember or ash | 1 | 1.8% | |
| 6 | Heat spread from another fire, other | 1 | 1.8% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Okawville departments in 2025. These 4 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $400,000 | Road freight or transport vehicle fire | Major | Investigated |
| 2 | $12,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $3,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 4 | $1,500 | Arcing, shorted electrical equipment | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Okawville sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 1,862 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2005 | Natural | 225 | 44.6 mi | |
| 2007 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 225 | 32.0 mi | |
| 2005 | Debris and open burning | 160 | 33.2 mi | |
| 2002 | Natural | 150 | 44.8 mi | |
| 2004 | Debris and open burning | 150 | 32.0 mi | |
| 2008 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 80 | 38.9 mi | |
| 2013 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 80 | 22.9 mi | |
| 2009 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 80 | 41.9 mi | |
| 2014 | Debris and open burning | 80 | 45.8 mi | |
| 2011 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 70 | 43.2 mi | |
| 2020 | Debris and open burning | 60 | 38.5 mi | |
| 2009 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 60 | 37.1 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 Okawville. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
1 departments report to NFIRS for incidents in Okawville.
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.