In 2025, fire departments serving Pittsfield responded to 74 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $250K 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 70% of all calls.
Mar peaks. Jul dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
243 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2025. $3.3M cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 43 | — | |
| 2022 | 40 | -7.0% | |
| 2023 | 43 | +7.5% | |
| 2024 | 43 | +0.0% | |
| 2025 | 74 | +72.1% |
For the 28 building fires Pittsfield departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 91 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 | 20 | 22.0% | |
| 2 | Undetermined | 20 | 22.0% | |
| 3 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 11 | 12.1% | |
| 4 | Bedroom - < 5 persons; included are jail or prison | 4 | 4.4% | |
| 5 | Wall surface: exterior | 4 | 4.4% | |
| 6 | Outside area, other | 4 | 4.4% | |
| 7 | Vehicle storage area; garage, carport | 3 | 3.3% | |
| 8 | Courtyard, patio, porch, terrace | 3 | 3.3% | |
| 9 | Bathroom, checkroom, lavatory, locker room | 2 | 2.2% | |
| 10 | Laundry area, wash house (laundry) | 2 | 2.2% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 18 | 19.8% |
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 Pittsfield mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 35 | 38.5% | |
| 2 | Hot ember or ash | 14 | 15.4% | |
| 3 | Arcing | 7 | 7.7% | |
| 4 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 6 | 6.6% | |
| 5 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 5 | 5.5% | |
| 6 | Match | 5 | 5.5% | |
| 7 | Lightning | 5 | 5.5% | |
| 8 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 4 | 4.4% | |
| 9 | Heat, spark from friction | 3 | 3.3% | |
| 10 | Cigarette | 3 | 3.3% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 4 | 4.4% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Pittsfield departments in 2025. These 8 fires alone account for 81% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $250,000 | Building fires | Major | Investigated |
| 2 | $100,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $80,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 4 | $80,000 | Off-road vehicle or heavy equipment fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 5 | $75,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 6 | $65,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 7 | $50,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 8 | $45,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Pittsfield sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 5,419 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2011 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 1,475 | 45.8 mi | |
| 1992 | Debris and open burning | 1,050 | 23.8 mi | |
| 1999 | Arson/incendiarism | 835 | 22.8 mi | |
| 1999 | Equipment and vehicle use | 238 | 38.2 mi | |
| 2015 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 210 | 22.4 mi | |
| 1999 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 200 | 22.8 mi | |
| 1999 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 150 | 22.8 mi | |
| 1994 | Arson/incendiarism | 140 | 21.5 mi | |
| 2014 | Debris and open burning | 140 | 9.1 mi | |
| 2006 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 100 | 23.5 mi | |
| 2006 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 100 | 29.8 mi | |
| 2014 | Debris and open burning | 96 | 13.9 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 Pittsfield. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
1 departments report to NFIRS for incidents in Pittsfield.
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.