In 2025, fire departments serving Onarga responded to 25 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $40K 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.
Oct peaks. Jan dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
93 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2025. $356K cumulative property loss. 1 civilian deaths.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 14 | — | |
| 2022 | 14 | +0.0% | |
| 2023 | 17 | +21.4% | |
| 2024 | 23 | +35.3% | |
| 2025 | 25 | +8.7% |
For the 8 building fires Onarga departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 20 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 | 8 | 40.0% | |
| 2 | Undetermined | 3 | 15.0% | |
| 3 | Outside area, other | 2 | 10.0% | |
| 4 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 2 | 10.0% | |
| 5 | Bedroom - < 5 persons; included are jail or prison | 1 | 5.0% | |
| 6 | Closet | 1 | 5.0% | |
| 7 | Chute/container - trash, rubbish, waste | 1 | 5.0% | |
| 8 | Machinery room or area; elevator machinery room | 1 | 5.0% | |
| 9 | Vehicle area, other | 1 | 5.0% |
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 Onarga mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 9 | 45.0% | |
| 2 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 4 | 20.0% | |
| 3 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 2 | 10.0% | |
| 4 | Hot ember or ash | 2 | 10.0% | |
| 5 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 1 | 5.0% | |
| 6 | Heat, spark from friction | 1 | 5.0% | |
| 7 | Candle | 1 | 5.0% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Onarga departments in 2025. These 5 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $40,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 2 | $12,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $8,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 4 | $500 | Off-road vehicle or heavy equipment fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 5 | $200 | Cooking fire, confined to container | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Onarga sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 2,000 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2003 | Natural | 600 | 45.2 mi | |
| 2003 | Debris and open burning | 232 | 45.6 mi | |
| 2009 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 150 | 38.0 mi | |
| 2010 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 100 | 37.4 mi | |
| 2009 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 100 | 37.0 mi | |
| 2010 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 75 | 25.8 mi | |
| 2009 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 70 | 38.5 mi | |
| 2016 | Natural | 67 | 45.7 mi | |
| 2007 | Equipment and vehicle use | 50 | 46.4 mi | |
| 2010 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 50 | 25.2 mi | |
| 2010 | Debris and open burning | 50 | 40.5 mi | |
| 2014 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 50 | 29.1 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 | 60955 | 93 |
Six Illinois cities with population within ±25% of Onarga. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
1 departments report to NFIRS for incidents in Onarga.
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.