In 2025, fire departments serving Pleasant Hill responded to 32 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $30K 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 72% of all calls.
Mar peaks. Jan dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
154 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2024. $283K cumulative property loss. 1 civilian deaths.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 21 | — | |
| 2022 | 29 | +38.1% | |
| 2023 | 35 | +20.7% | |
| 2024 | 37 | +5.7% | |
| 2025 | 32 | -13.5% |
For the 5 building fires Pleasant Hill departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 16 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 | 25.0% | |
| 2 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 3 | 18.8% | |
| 3 | Undetermined | 2 | 12.5% | |
| 4 | Common room, den, family room, living room, lounge | 1 | 6.2% | |
| 5 | Bedroom - < 5 persons; included are jail or prison | 1 | 6.2% | |
| 6 | Processing/manufacturing area, workroom | 1 | 6.2% | |
| 7 | Vehicle storage area; garage, carport | 1 | 6.2% | |
| 8 | Roof surface: exterior | 1 | 6.2% | |
| 9 | Operator/passenger area of transportation equip. | 1 | 6.2% | |
| 10 | Wildland, woods | 1 | 6.2% |
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 Pleasant Hill mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 7 | 43.8% | |
| 2 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 2 | 12.5% | |
| 3 | Flying brand, ember, spark | 2 | 12.5% | |
| 4 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 1 | 6.2% | |
| 5 | Match | 1 | 6.2% | |
| 6 | Backfire from internal combustion engine | 1 | 6.2% | |
| 7 | Lightning | 1 | 6.2% | |
| 8 | Heat spread from another fire, other | 1 | 6.2% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Pleasant Hill departments in 2025. These 3 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $30,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 2 | $10,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $1,500 | Outside rubbish, trash or waste fire | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Pleasant Hill sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 5,496 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 | 36.9 mi | |
| 1992 | Debris and open burning | 1,050 | 11.4 mi | |
| 1999 | Arson/incendiarism | 835 | 21.7 mi | |
| 1999 | Equipment and vehicle use | 238 | 41.6 mi | |
| 2015 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 210 | 25.1 mi | |
| 1999 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 200 | 21.7 mi | |
| 1999 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 150 | 21.7 mi | |
| 1994 | Arson/incendiarism | 140 | 18.5 mi | |
| 2014 | Debris and open burning | 140 | 4.9 mi | |
| 2016 | Debris and open burning | 112 | 48.0 mi | |
| 2006 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 100 | 12.3 mi | |
| 2006 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 100 | 16.8 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 Pleasant Hill. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
1 departments report to NFIRS for incidents in Pleasant Hill.
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.