In 2025, fire departments serving Tilton responded to 56 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $50K building blaze. Here's the full picture.
Gas leak (natural gas or LPG) lead by count. Building fires lead by dollars. Together the top five categories make up about 66% of all calls.
Mar peaks. Sep dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
267 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2023. $225K cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 36 | — | |
| 2022 | 52 | +44.4% | |
| 2023 | 72 | +38.5% | |
| 2024 | 51 | -29.2% | |
| 2025 | 56 | +9.8% |
For the 9 building fires Tilton departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 39 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 | 12 | 30.8% | |
| 2 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 5 | 12.8% | |
| 3 | Outside area, other | 4 | 10.3% | |
| 4 | Cooking area, kitchen | 3 | 7.7% | |
| 5 | Laundry area, wash house (laundry) | 2 | 5.1% | |
| 6 | Wall assembly | 2 | 5.1% | |
| 7 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 2 | 5.1% | |
| 8 | Other | 1 | 2.6% | |
| 9 | Common room, den, family room, living room, lounge | 1 | 2.6% | |
| 10 | Dining room, cafeteria bar area, beverage service | 1 | 2.6% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 6 | 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 Tilton mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 22 | 56.4% | |
| 2 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 3 | 7.7% | |
| 3 | Arcing | 3 | 7.7% | |
| 4 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 2 | 5.1% | |
| 5 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 2 | 5.1% | |
| 6 | Hot ember or ash | 2 | 5.1% | |
| 7 | Heat source: other | 1 | 2.6% | |
| 8 | Heat, spark from friction | 1 | 2.6% | |
| 9 | Lightning | 1 | 2.6% | |
| 10 | Heat spread from another fire, other | 1 | 2.6% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 1 | 2.6% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Tilton departments in 2025. These 3 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $50,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 2 | $10,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $5,000 | Fire in mobile home used as fixed residence | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Tilton sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 17 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 670 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2003 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 150 | 45.2 mi | |
| 2003 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 100 | 45.3 mi | |
| 2010 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 100 | 11.7 mi | |
| 2007 | Equipment and vehicle use | 50 | 30.8 mi | |
| 2014 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 50 | 31.9 mi | |
| 2005 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 40 | 49.1 mi | |
| 2007 | Equipment and vehicle use | 35 | 30.7 mi | |
| 2010 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 25 | 9.7 mi | |
| 2018 | Equipment and vehicle use | 20 | 32.6 mi | |
| 2011 | Debris and open burning | 20 | 14.3 mi | |
| 2011 | Debris and open burning | 15 | 9.2 mi | |
| 2004 | Arson/incendiarism | 15 | 48.3 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 | 61833 | 267 |
Six Illinois cities with population within ±25% of Tilton. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
1 departments report to NFIRS for incidents in Tilton.
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.