In 2025, fire departments serving Tilden responded to 11 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $150K 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 100% of all calls.
Feb peaks. Jan dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
48 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2024. $284K cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 6 | — | |
| 2022 | 9 | +50.0% | |
| 2023 | 10 | +11.1% | |
| 2024 | 12 | +20.0% | |
| 2025 | 11 | -8.3% |
For the 7 building fires Tilden departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 12 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 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 2 | 16.7% | |
| 2 | Other | 1 | 8.3% | |
| 3 | Common room, den, family room, living room, lounge | 1 | 8.3% | |
| 4 | Bedroom - < 5 persons; included are jail or prison | 1 | 8.3% | |
| 5 | Cooking area, kitchen | 1 | 8.3% | |
| 6 | Chute/container - trash, rubbish, waste | 1 | 8.3% | |
| 7 | Vehicle storage area; garage, carport | 1 | 8.3% | |
| 8 | Wall surface: exterior | 1 | 8.3% | |
| 9 | Outside area, other | 1 | 8.3% | |
| 10 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 1 | 8.3% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 1 | 8.3% |
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 Tilden mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 6 | 50.0% | |
| 2 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 1 | 8.3% | |
| 3 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 1 | 8.3% | |
| 4 | Arcing | 1 | 8.3% | |
| 5 | Fireworks | 1 | 8.3% | |
| 6 | Match | 1 | 8.3% | |
| 7 | Flame/torch used for lighting | 1 | 8.3% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Tilden departments in 2025. These 1 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $150,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Tilden sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 2,743 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010 | Arson/incendiarism | 409 | 43.6 mi | |
| 2005 | Natural | 225 | 33.6 mi | |
| 2007 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 225 | 27.8 mi | |
| 2005 | Debris and open burning | 160 | 27.0 mi | |
| 2002 | Natural | 150 | 33.6 mi | |
| 2014 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 150 | 47.6 mi | |
| 2004 | Debris and open burning | 150 | 26.3 mi | |
| 2011 | Debris and open burning | 120 | 41.0 mi | |
| 1992 | Recreation and ceremony | 110 | 45.2 mi | |
| 1995 | Arson/incendiarism | 102 | 42.5 mi | |
| 2019 | Debris and open burning | 97 | 46.0 mi | |
| 2008 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 80 | 32.8 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 Tilden. 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.