In 2025, fire departments serving Paris responded to 242 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $900K building blaze. Here's the full picture.
Attempted burning, illegal action, other lead by count. Building fires lead by dollars. Together the top five categories make up about 63% of all calls.
Mar peaks. Feb dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
1,021 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2025. $7.0M cumulative property loss. 2 civilian deaths.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 192 | — | |
| 2022 | 180 | -6.2% | |
| 2023 | 203 | +12.8% | |
| 2024 | 204 | +0.5% | |
| 2025 | 242 | +18.6% |
For the 28 building fires Paris departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 278 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 | 64 | 23.0% | |
| 2 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 24 | 8.6% | |
| 3 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 22 | 7.9% | |
| 4 | Wall surface: exterior | 15 | 5.4% | |
| 5 | Outside area, other | 14 | 5.0% | |
| 6 | Other | 13 | 4.7% | |
| 7 | Cooking area, kitchen | 13 | 4.7% | |
| 8 | Vehicle area, other | 12 | 4.3% | |
| 9 | Vehicle storage area; garage, carport | 8 | 2.9% | |
| 10 | Bedroom - < 5 persons; included are jail or prison | 7 | 2.5% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 86 | 30.9% |
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 Paris mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 160 | 57.6% | |
| 2 | Radiated heat from another fire | 15 | 5.4% | |
| 3 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 12 | 4.3% | |
| 4 | Arcing | 10 | 3.6% | |
| 5 | Heat from other open flame or smoking materials | 10 | 3.6% | |
| 6 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 9 | 3.2% | |
| 7 | Heat source: other | 8 | 2.9% | |
| 8 | Flame/torch used for lighting | 7 | 2.5% | |
| 9 | Heat from direct flame, convection currents | 7 | 2.5% | |
| 10 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 5 | 1.8% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 35 | 12.6% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Paris departments in 2025. These 8 fires alone account for 84% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $900,000 | Off-road vehicle or heavy equipment fire | Major | Investigated |
| 2 | $400,000 | Off-road vehicle or heavy equipment fire | Major | Investigated |
| 3 | $200,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 4 | $200,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 5 | $75,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 6 | $50,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 7 | $50,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 8 | $40,000 | Mobile property (vehicle) fire, other | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Paris sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
10 fire-related casualties recorded in NFIRS Module 11 across the 2021–2025 window. Age, gender, and severity are coarse-binned — no individual identification possible.
| Age | Count | |
|---|---|---|
| 0-9 | 0 | |
| 10-19 | 1 | |
| 20-29 | 1 | |
| 30-39 | 0 | |
| 40-49 | 0 | |
| 50-59 | 1 | |
| 60-69 | 1 | |
| 70-79 | 2 | |
| 80+ | 0 |
Top 20 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 695 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 | 17.1 mi | |
| 2003 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 100 | 17.5 mi | |
| 2010 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 100 | 45.0 mi | |
| 2007 | Equipment and vehicle use | 50 | 41.9 mi | |
| 2001 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 40 | 35.2 mi | |
| 2005 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 40 | 17.7 mi | |
| 2007 | Equipment and vehicle use | 35 | 41.9 mi | |
| 2010 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 25 | 43.0 mi | |
| 2007 | Arson/incendiarism | 20 | 45.8 mi | |
| 2004 | Arson/incendiarism | 20 | 44.6 mi | |
| 2011 | Debris and open burning | 20 | 47.5 mi | |
| 2011 | Debris and open burning | 15 | 41.9 mi |
Top 5 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 Paris. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
1 departments report to NFIRS for incidents in Paris.
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.