In 2025, fire departments serving Pawnee responded to 19 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $10K 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 63% of all calls.
Mar peaks. Feb dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
119 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2021. $1.1M cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 43 | — | |
| 2022 | 19 | -55.8% | |
| 2023 | 21 | +10.5% | |
| 2024 | 17 | -19.0% | |
| 2025 | 19 | +11.8% |
For the 4 building fires Pawnee departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 31 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 | 11 | 35.5% | |
| 2 | Other | 5 | 16.1% | |
| 3 | Cooking area, kitchen | 4 | 12.9% | |
| 4 | Outside area, other | 3 | 9.7% | |
| 5 | Wall assembly | 2 | 6.5% | |
| 6 | Bedroom - < 5 persons; included are jail or prison | 1 | 3.2% | |
| 7 | Vehicle storage area; garage, carport | 1 | 3.2% | |
| 8 | Maintenance shop or area, paint shop or area | 1 | 3.2% | |
| 9 | Structural area, other | 1 | 3.2% | |
| 10 | Attic: vacant, crawl space above top story, cupola | 1 | 3.2% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 1 | 3.2% |
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 Pawnee mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 18 | 58.1% | |
| 2 | Heat source: other | 6 | 19.4% | |
| 3 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 3 | 9.7% | |
| 4 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 1 | 3.2% | |
| 5 | Arcing | 1 | 3.2% | |
| 6 | Chemical reaction | 1 | 3.2% | |
| 7 | Conducted heat from another fire | 1 | 3.2% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Pawnee departments in 2025. These 3 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $10,000 | Off-road vehicle or heavy equipment fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 2 | $5,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $1,000 | Cooking fire, confined to container | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Pawnee sits below the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 1,540 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 | 200 | 12.3 mi | |
| 2009 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 160 | 30.4 mi | |
| 2013 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 100 | 44.1 mi | |
| 2009 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 80 | 43.3 mi | |
| 2014 | Debris and open burning | 80 | 40.4 mi | |
| 2014 | Debris and open burning | 80 | 34.9 mi | |
| 2018 | Equipment and vehicle use | 80 | 39.2 mi | |
| 2008 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 75 | 31.6 mi | |
| 2010 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 75 | 25.1 mi | |
| 2009 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 60 | 49.2 mi | |
| 2011 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 60 | 34.5 mi | |
| 2011 | Equipment and vehicle use | 55 | 32.1 mi |
Top 3 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 Pawnee. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
1 departments report to NFIRS for incidents in Pawnee.
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.