In 2025, fire departments serving Rockdale responded to 72 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $800K 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 68% of all calls.
Sep peaks. May dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
257 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2025. $3.0M cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 55 | — | |
| 2022 | 54 | -1.8% | |
| 2023 | 31 | -42.6% | |
| 2024 | 45 | +45.2% | |
| 2025 | 72 | +60.0% |
For the 30 building fires Rockdale departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 39 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 | 10 | 25.6% | |
| 2 | Other | 4 | 10.3% | |
| 3 | Outside area, other | 3 | 7.7% | |
| 4 | Chute/container - trash, rubbish, waste | 2 | 5.1% | |
| 5 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 2 | 5.1% | |
| 6 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 2 | 5.1% | |
| 7 | Common room, den, family room, living room, lounge | 1 | 2.6% | |
| 8 | Cooking area, kitchen | 1 | 2.6% | |
| 9 | Processing/manufacturing area, workroom | 1 | 2.6% | |
| 10 | Storage room, area, tank, or bin | 1 | 2.6% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 12 | 30.8% |
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 Rockdale mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 17 | 43.6% | |
| 2 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 5 | 12.8% | |
| 3 | Hot ember or ash | 4 | 10.3% | |
| 4 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 3 | 7.7% | |
| 5 | Heat source: other | 2 | 5.1% | |
| 6 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 2 | 5.1% | |
| 7 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 1 | 2.6% | |
| 8 | Arcing | 1 | 2.6% | |
| 9 | Heat, spark from friction | 1 | 2.6% | |
| 10 | Cigarette lighter | 1 | 2.6% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 2 | 5.1% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Rockdale departments in 2025. These 5 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $800,000 | Building fires | Major | Investigated |
| 2 | $400,000 | Building fires | Major | Investigated |
| 3 | $400,000 | Building fires | Major | Investigated |
| 4 | $300,000 | Fires in structures other than in a building | Major | Investigated |
| 5 | $300,000 | Off-road vehicle or heavy equipment fire | Major | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Rockdale sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 5,412 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2003 | Natural | 600 | 13.6 mi | |
| 2002 | Railroad operations and maintenance | 396 | 44.1 mi | |
| 1993 | Railroad operations and maintenance | 341 | 44.1 mi | |
| 2012 | Railroad operations and maintenance | 291 | 43.4 mi | |
| 2019 | Railroad operations and maintenance | 274 | 45.4 mi | |
| 1995 | Debris and open burning | 253 | 43.1 mi | |
| 1996 | Railroad operations and maintenance | 244 | 43.9 mi | |
| 2003 | Debris and open burning | 232 | 10.1 mi | |
| 2019 | Railroad operations and maintenance | 216 | 44.2 mi | |
| 2012 | Debris and open burning | 210 | 46.4 mi | |
| 2003 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 204 | 43.0 mi | |
| 1994 | Railroad operations and maintenance | 191 | 44.4 mi |
Top 5 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 Rockdale. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
1 departments report to NFIRS for incidents in Rockdale.
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.