In 2025, fire departments serving Red Bud responded to 37 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $1.5M 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 57% of all calls.
Mar peaks. May dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
206 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2023. $3.3M cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 33 | — | |
| 2022 | 33 | +0.0% | |
| 2023 | 62 | +87.9% | |
| 2024 | 41 | -33.9% | |
| 2025 | 37 | -9.8% |
For the 7 building fires Red Bud departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 76 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 | 26.3% | |
| 2 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 12 | 15.8% | |
| 3 | Undetermined | 9 | 11.8% | |
| 4 | Vehicle storage area; garage, carport | 6 | 7.9% | |
| 5 | Cargo/trunk area - all vehicles | 4 | 5.3% | |
| 6 | Cooking area, kitchen | 3 | 3.9% | |
| 7 | Wall assembly | 3 | 3.9% | |
| 8 | Wall surface: exterior | 3 | 3.9% | |
| 9 | Storage room, area, tank, or bin | 2 | 2.6% | |
| 10 | Maintenance shop or area, paint shop or area | 2 | 2.6% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 12 | 15.8% |
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 Red Bud mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 12 | 15.8% | |
| 2 | Arcing | 12 | 15.8% | |
| 3 | Undetermined | 11 | 14.5% | |
| 4 | Flying brand, ember, spark | 8 | 10.5% | |
| 5 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 7 | 9.2% | |
| 6 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 5 | 6.6% | |
| 7 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 3 | 3.9% | |
| 8 | Radiated heat from another fire | 3 | 3.9% | |
| 9 | Fireworks | 2 | 2.6% | |
| 10 | Cigarette | 2 | 2.6% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 11 | 14.5% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Red Bud departments in 2025. These 7 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $1,500,000 | Building fires | Major | Investigated |
| 2 | $75,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $8,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 4 | $8,000 | Off-road vehicle or heavy equipment fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 5 | $2,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 6 | $2,000 | Outside rubbish, trash or waste fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 7 | $2,000 | Cultivated grain or crop fire | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Red Bud sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 3,493 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1999 | Debris and open burning | 360 | 49.3 mi | |
| 1997 | Debris and open burning | 270 | 36.9 mi | |
| 2018 | Debris and open burning | 254 | 44.4 mi | |
| 2005 | Natural | 225 | 16.6 mi | |
| 2007 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 225 | 44.0 mi | |
| 2005 | Debris and open burning | 160 | 42.5 mi | |
| 1995 | Debris and open burning | 150 | 45.4 mi | |
| 2002 | Natural | 150 | 16.6 mi | |
| 2014 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 150 | 31.4 mi | |
| 2004 | Debris and open burning | 150 | 42.0 mi | |
| 1997 | Smoking | 135 | 39.1 mi | |
| 1992 | Debris and open burning | 125 | 40.1 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 Red Bud. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
1 departments report to NFIRS for incidents in Red Bud.
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.