In 2025, fire departments serving Pontiac responded to 184 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $300K 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 60% of all calls.
Jun peaks. Nov dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
796 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2025. $1.0M cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 182 | — | |
| 2022 | 145 | -20.3% | |
| 2023 | 136 | -6.2% | |
| 2024 | 149 | +9.6% | |
| 2025 | 184 | +23.5% |
For the 55 building fires Pontiac departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 200 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 | 64 | 32.0% | |
| 2 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 29 | 14.5% | |
| 3 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 20 | 10.0% | |
| 4 | Outside area, other | 15 | 7.5% | |
| 5 | Other | 9 | 4.5% | |
| 6 | Cooking area, kitchen | 9 | 4.5% | |
| 7 | Wall surface: exterior | 7 | 3.5% | |
| 8 | Bedroom - < 5 persons; included are jail or prison | 6 | 3.0% | |
| 9 | Vehicle area, other | 5 | 2.5% | |
| 10 | Common room, den, family room, living room, lounge | 4 | 2.0% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 32 | 16.0% |
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 Pontiac mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 136 | 68.0% | |
| 2 | Hot ember or ash | 11 | 5.5% | |
| 3 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 8 | 4.0% | |
| 4 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 7 | 3.5% | |
| 5 | Heat source: other | 6 | 3.0% | |
| 6 | Arcing | 6 | 3.0% | |
| 7 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 5 | 2.5% | |
| 8 | Flame/torch used for lighting | 5 | 2.5% | |
| 9 | Heat from other open flame or smoking materials | 4 | 2.0% | |
| 10 | Heat, spark from friction | 2 | 1.0% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 10 | 5.0% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Pontiac departments in 2025. These 8 fires alone account for 95% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $300,000 | Building fires | Major | Investigated |
| 2 | $200,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $200,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 4 | $50,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 5 | $50,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 6 | $45,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 7 | $25,000 | Off-road vehicle or heavy equipment fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 8 | $20,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Pontiac sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 2,560 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2003 | Natural | 600 | 36.6 mi | |
| 2003 | Debris and open burning | 232 | 40.8 mi | |
| 2012 | Debris and open burning | 210 | 36.1 mi | |
| 2014 | Debris and open burning | 200 | 43.1 mi | |
| 2009 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 150 | 30.9 mi | |
| 2020 | Debris and open burning | 110 | 32.8 mi | |
| 2009 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 100 | 30.5 mi | |
| 2010 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 75 | 12.1 mi | |
| 2009 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 70 | 33.0 mi | |
| 2016 | Natural | 67 | 40.7 mi | |
| 2014 | Debris and open burning | 60 | 30.1 mi | |
| 2010 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 60 | 34.3 mi |
Top 4 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 Pontiac. 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.