In 2025, fire departments serving Pingree Grove responded to 60 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $100K building blaze. Here's the full picture.
Gas leak (natural gas or LPG) lead by count. Building fires lead by dollars. Together the top five categories make up about 67% of all calls.
Oct peaks. Apr dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
345 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2021. $2.6M cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 74 | — | |
| 2022 | 71 | -4.1% | |
| 2023 | 74 | +4.2% | |
| 2024 | 66 | -10.8% | |
| 2025 | 60 | -9.1% |
For the 11 building fires Pingree Grove departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 60 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 | Cooking area, kitchen | 9 | 15.0% | |
| 2 | Outside area, other | 9 | 15.0% | |
| 3 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 8 | 13.3% | |
| 4 | Other | 6 | 10.0% | |
| 5 | Undetermined | 5 | 8.3% | |
| 6 | Vehicle storage area; garage, carport | 4 | 6.7% | |
| 7 | Cargo/trunk area - all vehicles | 3 | 5.0% | |
| 8 | Courtyard, patio, porch, terrace | 3 | 5.0% | |
| 9 | Bedroom - < 5 persons; included are jail or prison | 2 | 3.3% | |
| 10 | Wall surface: exterior | 2 | 3.3% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 9 | 15.0% |
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 Pingree Grove mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 17 | 28.3% | |
| 2 | Arcing | 6 | 10.0% | |
| 3 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 5 | 8.3% | |
| 4 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 5 | 8.3% | |
| 5 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 4 | 6.7% | |
| 6 | Heat source: other | 3 | 5.0% | |
| 7 | Heat from direct flame, convection currents | 3 | 5.0% | |
| 8 | Heat, spark from friction | 2 | 3.3% | |
| 9 | Cigarette | 2 | 3.3% | |
| 10 | Candle | 2 | 3.3% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 11 | 18.3% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Pingree Grove departments in 2025. These 3 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $100,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 2 | $20,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $300 | Cooking fire, confined to container | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Pingree Grove sits below the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 2,229 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2015 | Misuse of fire by a minor | 750 | 38.9 mi | |
| 2003 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 450 | 37.8 mi | |
| 2010 | Debris and open burning | 100 | 39.0 mi | |
| 2010 | Equipment and vehicle use | 80 | 40.4 mi | |
| 2012 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 80 | 21.8 mi | |
| 2003 | Recreation and ceremony | 75 | 4.7 mi | |
| 2010 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 70 | 38.2 mi | |
| 2020 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 60 | 42.3 mi | |
| 2014 | Arson/incendiarism | 50 | 10.6 mi | |
| 2015 | Debris and open burning | 50 | 42.4 mi | |
| 2012 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 50 | 40.5 mi | |
| 2012 | Debris and open burning | 49 | 18.9 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 Pingree Grove. 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.