In 2025, fire departments serving South Jacksonville responded to 30 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $75K building blaze. Here's the full picture.
Power line down lead by count. Building fires lead by dollars. Together the top five categories make up about 63% of all calls.
Jun peaks. Apr dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
192 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2021. $1.1M cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 60 | — | |
| 2022 | 42 | -30.0% | |
| 2023 | 31 | -26.2% | |
| 2024 | 29 | -6.5% | |
| 2025 | 30 | +3.4% |
For the 3 building fires South Jacksonville departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 47 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 | 10 | 21.3% | |
| 2 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 8 | 17.0% | |
| 3 | Undetermined | 8 | 17.0% | |
| 4 | Bedroom - < 5 persons; included are jail or prison | 3 | 6.4% | |
| 5 | Cooking area, kitchen | 3 | 6.4% | |
| 6 | Attic: vacant, crawl space above top story, cupola | 3 | 6.4% | |
| 7 | Wall assembly | 2 | 4.3% | |
| 8 | Wildland, woods | 2 | 4.3% | |
| 9 | Dining room, cafeteria bar area, beverage service | 1 | 2.1% | |
| 10 | Chute/container - trash, rubbish, waste | 1 | 2.1% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 6 | 12.8% |
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 South Jacksonville mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 27 | 57.4% | |
| 2 | Arcing | 4 | 8.5% | |
| 3 | Hot ember or ash | 3 | 6.4% | |
| 4 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 2 | 4.3% | |
| 5 | Heat from direct flame, convection currents | 2 | 4.3% | |
| 6 | Flying brand, ember, spark | 2 | 4.3% | |
| 7 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 1 | 2.1% | |
| 8 | Heat, spark from friction | 1 | 2.1% | |
| 9 | Cigarette | 1 | 2.1% | |
| 10 | Match | 1 | 2.1% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 3 | 6.4% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by South Jacksonville departments in 2025. These 5 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $75,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 2 | $35,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $5,000 | Road freight or transport vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 4 | $2,000 | Dumpster or other outside trash receptacle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 5 | $2,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. South Jacksonville sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 2,736 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1992 | Debris and open burning | 1,050 | 49.5 mi | |
| 1999 | Debris and open burning | 250 | 44.0 mi | |
| 2012 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 200 | 40.3 mi | |
| 2014 | Debris and open burning | 140 | 33.9 mi | |
| 2006 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 100 | 41.4 mi | |
| 2014 | Debris and open burning | 96 | 35.8 mi | |
| 2007 | Equipment and vehicle use | 80 | 45.5 mi | |
| 2008 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 75 | 40.8 mi | |
| 2010 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 75 | 37.1 mi | |
| 2011 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 60 | 4.3 mi | |
| 2011 | Equipment and vehicle use | 55 | 7.5 mi | |
| 1997 | Debris and open burning | 50 | 48.4 mi |
Top 1 ZIP codes by NFIRS incident count across 2021–2025. Each ZIP has its own fire profile — dive in for neighborhood-level context.
| # | ZIP | 5-yr incidents | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 62650 | 192 |
Six Illinois cities with population within ±25% of South Jacksonville. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
1 departments report to NFIRS for incidents in South Jacksonville.
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.