In 2025, fire departments serving Thornton responded to 51 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $100K 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 65% of all calls.
Nov peaks. Jun dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
332 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2021. $1.8M cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 76 | — | |
| 2022 | 72 | -5.3% | |
| 2023 | 76 | +5.6% | |
| 2024 | 57 | -25.0% | |
| 2025 | 51 | -10.5% |
For the 4 building fires Thornton departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 65 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 | Wildland, woods | 12 | 18.5% | |
| 2 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 10 | 15.4% | |
| 3 | Outside area, other | 8 | 12.3% | |
| 4 | Other | 7 | 10.8% | |
| 5 | Cooking area, kitchen | 5 | 7.7% | |
| 6 | Undetermined | 4 | 6.2% | |
| 7 | Highway, parking lot, street: on or near | 3 | 4.6% | |
| 8 | Assembly or sales area, other | 2 | 3.1% | |
| 9 | Structural area, other | 2 | 3.1% | |
| 10 | Wall assembly | 2 | 3.1% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 10 | 15.4% |
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 Thornton mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 40 | 61.5% | |
| 2 | Arcing | 4 | 6.2% | |
| 3 | Cigarette lighter | 4 | 6.2% | |
| 4 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 3 | 4.6% | |
| 5 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 3 | 4.6% | |
| 6 | Heat source: other | 2 | 3.1% | |
| 7 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 2 | 3.1% | |
| 8 | Hot ember or ash | 2 | 3.1% | |
| 9 | Heat from other open flame or smoking materials | 2 | 3.1% | |
| 10 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 1 | 1.5% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 2 | 3.1% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Thornton departments in 2025. These 4 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $100,000 | Road freight or transport vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 2 | $100,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $40,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 4 | $100 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Thornton sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 5,306 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2003 | Natural | 600 | 37.3 mi | |
| 2002 | Railroad operations and maintenance | 396 | 17.5 mi | |
| 1993 | Railroad operations and maintenance | 341 | 17.6 mi | |
| 2012 | Railroad operations and maintenance | 291 | 16.9 mi | |
| 2019 | Railroad operations and maintenance | 274 | 18.8 mi | |
| 1995 | Debris and open burning | 253 | 16.6 mi | |
| 1996 | Railroad operations and maintenance | 244 | 17.4 mi | |
| 2003 | Debris and open burning | 232 | 32.1 mi | |
| 2019 | Railroad operations and maintenance | 216 | 17.6 mi | |
| 2003 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 204 | 16.4 mi | |
| 1994 | Railroad operations and maintenance | 191 | 17.9 mi | |
| 1994 | Railroad operations and maintenance | 190 | 15.8 mi |
Top 2 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 Thornton. 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.