In 2025, fire departments serving Rock Island responded to 327 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $200K building blaze. Here's the full picture.
Unauthorized burning lead by count. Building fires lead by dollars. Together the top five categories make up about 51% of all calls.
Sep peaks. Dec dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
1,467 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2024. $4.3M cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 285 | — | |
| 2022 | 248 | -13.0% | |
| 2023 | 275 | +10.9% | |
| 2024 | 332 | +20.7% | |
| 2025 | 327 | -1.5% |
For the 36 building fires Rock Island departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 339 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 | 139 | 41.0% | |
| 2 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 35 | 10.3% | |
| 3 | Outside area, other | 21 | 6.2% | |
| 4 | Cooking area, kitchen | 19 | 5.6% | |
| 5 | Bedroom - < 5 persons; included are jail or prison | 12 | 3.5% | |
| 6 | Vehicle storage area; garage, carport | 12 | 3.5% | |
| 7 | Other | 9 | 2.7% | |
| 8 | Wall surface: exterior | 9 | 2.7% | |
| 9 | Vehicle area, other | 9 | 2.7% | |
| 10 | Laundry area, wash house (laundry) | 8 | 2.4% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 66 | 19.5% |
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 Rock Island mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 204 | 60.2% | |
| 2 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 23 | 6.8% | |
| 3 | Heat source: other | 21 | 6.2% | |
| 4 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 14 | 4.1% | |
| 5 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 12 | 3.5% | |
| 6 | Arcing | 10 | 2.9% | |
| 7 | Hot ember or ash | 9 | 2.7% | |
| 8 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 6 | 1.8% | |
| 9 | Fireworks | 5 | 1.5% | |
| 10 | Heat from other open flame or smoking materials | 5 | 1.5% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 30 | 8.8% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Rock Island departments in 2025. These 8 fires alone account for 83% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $200,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 2 | $75,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $50,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 4 | $30,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 5 | $25,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 6 | $25,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 7 | $20,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 8 | $10,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Rock Island sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 8,988 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2015 | Debris and open burning | 1,500 | 10.8 mi | |
| 2003 | Recreation and ceremony | 1,200 | 30.3 mi | |
| 2000 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 832 | 30.3 mi | |
| 2003 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 820 | 30.3 mi | |
| 2015 | Debris and open burning | 640 | 13.3 mi | |
| 2003 | Arson/incendiarism | 630 | 30.3 mi | |
| 2012 | Debris and open burning | 400 | 40.6 mi | |
| 1996 | Debris and open burning | 333 | 36.3 mi | |
| 2000 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 282 | 30.3 mi | |
| 2014 | Recreation and ceremony | 265 | 41.4 mi | |
| 2000 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 232 | 30.3 mi | |
| 2011 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 200 | 46.1 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 Rock Island. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
1 departments report to NFIRS for incidents in Rock Island.
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.