In 2025, fire departments serving Roodhouse responded to 60 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $850K 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 63% of all calls.
Oct peaks. Feb dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
169 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2025. $1.8M cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 30 | — | |
| 2022 | 22 | -26.7% | |
| 2023 | 30 | +36.4% | |
| 2024 | 27 | -10.0% | |
| 2025 | 60 | +122.2% |
For the 13 building fires Roodhouse departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 68 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 | 17 | 25.0% | |
| 2 | Other | 13 | 19.1% | |
| 3 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 7 | 10.3% | |
| 4 | Outside area, other | 5 | 7.4% | |
| 5 | Vehicle storage area; garage, carport | 4 | 5.9% | |
| 6 | Wildland, woods | 3 | 4.4% | |
| 7 | Common room, den, family room, living room, lounge | 2 | 2.9% | |
| 8 | Structural area, other | 2 | 2.9% | |
| 9 | Substructure area or space, crawl space | 2 | 2.9% | |
| 10 | Vehicle area, other | 2 | 2.9% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 11 | 16.2% |
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 Roodhouse mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 32 | 47.1% | |
| 2 | Heat source: other | 7 | 10.3% | |
| 3 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 6 | 8.8% | |
| 4 | Hot ember or ash | 4 | 5.9% | |
| 5 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 3 | 4.4% | |
| 6 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 2 | 2.9% | |
| 7 | Heat from other open flame or smoking materials | 2 | 2.9% | |
| 8 | Match | 2 | 2.9% | |
| 9 | Flame/torch used for lighting | 2 | 2.9% | |
| 10 | Heat spread from another fire, other | 2 | 2.9% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 6 | 8.8% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Roodhouse departments in 2025. These 6 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $850,000 | Building fires | Major | Investigated |
| 2 | $45,000 | Outside equipment fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $10,000 | Fire, other | Significant | Investigated |
| 4 | $5,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 5 | $4,000 | Mobile property (vehicle) fire, other | Significant | Investigated |
| 6 | $500 | Fires in structures other than in a building | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Roodhouse sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 5,236 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 | 33.9 mi | |
| 1992 | Debris and open burning | 1,050 | 36.1 mi | |
| 1999 | Arson/incendiarism | 835 | 45.9 mi | |
| 2015 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 210 | 46.6 mi | |
| 1999 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 200 | 45.9 mi | |
| 1999 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 150 | 45.9 mi | |
| 1994 | Arson/incendiarism | 140 | 43.7 mi | |
| 2014 | Debris and open burning | 140 | 22.8 mi | |
| 2006 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 100 | 25.9 mi | |
| 2006 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 100 | 38.1 mi | |
| 2014 | Debris and open burning | 96 | 22.8 mi | |
| 2007 | Equipment and vehicle use | 80 | 31.8 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 Roodhouse. 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.