In 2025, fire departments serving Piper City responded to 10 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 80% of all calls.
Oct peaks. May dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
58 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2024. $396K cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 12 | — | |
| 2022 | 10 | -16.7% | |
| 2023 | 8 | -20.0% | |
| 2024 | 18 | +125.0% | |
| 2025 | 10 | -44.4% |
For the 3 building fires Piper City departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 15 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 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 4 | 26.7% | |
| 2 | Undetermined | 3 | 20.0% | |
| 3 | Vehicle area, other | 2 | 13.3% | |
| 4 | Outside area, other | 2 | 13.3% | |
| 5 | Other | 1 | 6.7% | |
| 6 | Storage area, other | 1 | 6.7% | |
| 7 | Substructure area or space, crawl space | 1 | 6.7% | |
| 8 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 1 | 6.7% |
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 Piper City mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 5 | 33.3% | |
| 2 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 3 | 20.0% | |
| 3 | Flame/torch used for lighting | 2 | 13.3% | |
| 4 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 1 | 6.7% | |
| 5 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 1 | 6.7% | |
| 6 | Incendiary device | 1 | 6.7% | |
| 7 | Cigarette | 1 | 6.7% | |
| 8 | Lightning | 1 | 6.7% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Piper City departments in 2025. These 1 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $10,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Piper City 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 | 40.6 mi | |
| 2003 | Debris and open burning | 232 | 42.0 mi | |
| 2009 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 150 | 33.1 mi | |
| 2010 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 100 | 45.3 mi | |
| 2009 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 100 | 32.1 mi | |
| 2010 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 75 | 16.3 mi | |
| 2009 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 70 | 34.1 mi | |
| 2016 | Natural | 67 | 42.0 mi | |
| 2007 | Equipment and vehicle use | 50 | 47.9 mi | |
| 2010 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 50 | 15.6 mi | |
| 2010 | Debris and open burning | 50 | 31.8 mi | |
| 2014 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 50 | 30.7 mi |
Top 2 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 Piper City. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
1 departments report to NFIRS for incidents in Piper City.
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.