In 2025, fire departments serving Seneca responded to 43 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $286K 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 65% of all calls.
Jan peaks. Jul dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
226 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2022. $312K cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 38 | — | |
| 2022 | 49 | +28.9% | |
| 2023 | 48 | -2.0% | |
| 2024 | 48 | +0.0% | |
| 2025 | 43 | -10.4% |
For the 13 building fires Seneca departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 34 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 | Outside area, other | 7 | 20.6% | |
| 2 | Undetermined | 6 | 17.6% | |
| 3 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 5 | 14.7% | |
| 4 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 4 | 11.8% | |
| 5 | Storage area, other | 2 | 5.9% | |
| 6 | Vehicle storage area; garage, carport | 2 | 5.9% | |
| 7 | Ceiling & floor assembly, crawl space b/t stories | 2 | 5.9% | |
| 8 | Wall surface: exterior | 2 | 5.9% | |
| 9 | Bedroom - < 5 persons; included are jail or prison | 1 | 2.9% | |
| 10 | Cooking area, kitchen | 1 | 2.9% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 2 | 5.9% |
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 Seneca mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 21 | 61.8% | |
| 2 | Arcing | 4 | 11.8% | |
| 3 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 3 | 8.8% | |
| 4 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 2 | 5.9% | |
| 5 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 1 | 2.9% | |
| 6 | Molten, hot material | 1 | 2.9% | |
| 7 | Hot ember or ash | 1 | 2.9% | |
| 8 | Flying brand, ember, spark | 1 | 2.9% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Seneca departments in 2025. These 2 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $286,000 | Fire in mobile home used as fixed residence | Major | Investigated |
| 2 | $1,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Seneca sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 2,622 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2003 | Natural | 600 | 16.6 mi | |
| 2003 | Debris and open burning | 232 | 21.8 mi | |
| 2012 | Debris and open burning | 210 | 21.0 mi | |
| 2014 | Debris and open burning | 200 | 32.2 mi | |
| 2009 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 150 | 18.2 mi | |
| 2020 | Debris and open burning | 110 | 26.8 mi | |
| 2009 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 100 | 18.9 mi | |
| 2010 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 75 | 39.7 mi | |
| 2003 | Recreation and ceremony | 75 | 49.3 mi | |
| 2009 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 70 | 19.7 mi | |
| 2016 | Natural | 67 | 21.4 mi | |
| 2014 | Debris and open burning | 60 | 39.5 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 Seneca. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
1 departments report to NFIRS for incidents in Seneca.
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.