In 2025, fire departments serving Olney responded to 95 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $50K 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 55% of all calls.
Apr peaks. Feb dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
465 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2023. $2.2M cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 77 | — | |
| 2022 | 76 | -1.3% | |
| 2023 | 112 | +47.4% | |
| 2024 | 105 | -6.2% | |
| 2025 | 95 | -9.5% |
For the 19 building fires Olney departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 170 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 | 39 | 22.9% | |
| 2 | Outside area, other | 23 | 13.5% | |
| 3 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 15 | 8.8% | |
| 4 | Cooking area, kitchen | 12 | 7.1% | |
| 5 | Vehicle area, other | 12 | 7.1% | |
| 6 | Bedroom - < 5 persons; included are jail or prison | 8 | 4.7% | |
| 7 | Wall surface: exterior | 7 | 4.1% | |
| 8 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 5 | 2.9% | |
| 9 | Laundry area, wash house (laundry) | 4 | 2.4% | |
| 10 | Attic: vacant, crawl space above top story, cupola | 4 | 2.4% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 41 | 24.1% |
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 Olney mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 89 | 52.4% | |
| 2 | Arcing | 16 | 9.4% | |
| 3 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 11 | 6.5% | |
| 4 | Heat from direct flame, convection currents | 10 | 5.9% | |
| 5 | Heat source: other | 6 | 3.5% | |
| 6 | Flame/torch used for lighting | 5 | 2.9% | |
| 7 | Radiated heat from another fire | 5 | 2.9% | |
| 8 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 4 | 2.4% | |
| 9 | Hot ember or ash | 4 | 2.4% | |
| 10 | Cigarette | 4 | 2.4% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 16 | 9.4% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Olney departments in 2025. These 8 fires alone account for 97% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $50,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 2 | $15,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $15,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 4 | $10,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 5 | $6,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 6 | $4,500 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 7 | $4,500 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 8 | $3,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Olney sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 16 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 810 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 | 418 | 47.3 mi | |
| 2001 | Smoking | 80 | 44.5 mi | |
| 2014 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 60 | 46.8 mi | |
| 2010 | Debris and open burning | 43 | 32.6 mi | |
| 1999 | Debris and open burning | 40 | 44.5 mi | |
| 2008 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 30 | 43.2 mi | |
| 2001 | Recreation and ceremony | 20 | 38.3 mi | |
| 2011 | Debris and open burning | 20 | 27.1 mi | |
| 2009 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 15 | 24.3 mi | |
| 2008 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 15 | 48.9 mi | |
| 2012 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 15 | 43.3 mi | |
| 2020 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 14 | 34.2 mi |
Top 1 ZIP codes by NFIRS incident count across 2021–2025. Each ZIP has its own fire profile — dive in for neighborhood-level context.
| # | ZIP | 5-yr incidents | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 62450 | 465 |
Six Illinois cities with population within ±25% of Olney. 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.