In 2025, fire departments serving Viola responded to 18 fire and hazmat incidents . Here's the full picture.
Building fires lead by count. Building fires lead by dollars. Together the top five categories make up about 56% of all calls.
Mar peaks. Oct dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
66 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2025.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 11 | — | |
| 2022 | 11 | +0.0% | |
| 2023 | 9 | -18.2% | |
| 2024 | 17 | +88.9% | |
| 2025 | 18 | +5.9% |
For the 3 building fires Viola departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 31 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 | 7 | 22.6% | |
| 2 | Undetermined | 6 | 19.4% | |
| 3 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 5 | 16.1% | |
| 4 | Other | 4 | 12.9% | |
| 5 | Entrance way, lobby | 1 | 3.2% | |
| 6 | Common room, den, family room, living room, lounge | 1 | 3.2% | |
| 7 | Cooking area, kitchen | 1 | 3.2% | |
| 8 | Equipment or service area, other | 1 | 3.2% | |
| 9 | Wall surface: exterior | 1 | 3.2% | |
| 10 | Vehicle area, other | 1 | 3.2% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 3 | 9.7% |
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 Viola mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 21 | 67.7% | |
| 2 | Hot ember or ash | 4 | 12.9% | |
| 3 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 2 | 6.5% | |
| 4 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 1 | 3.2% | |
| 5 | Arcing | 1 | 3.2% | |
| 6 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 1 | 3.2% | |
| 7 | Heat from other open flame or smoking materials | 1 | 3.2% |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Viola sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 8,803 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2015 | Debris and open burning | 1,500 | 29.1 mi | |
| 2003 | Recreation and ceremony | 1,200 | 26.6 mi | |
| 2000 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 832 | 26.6 mi | |
| 2003 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 820 | 26.6 mi | |
| 2015 | Debris and open burning | 640 | 31.3 mi | |
| 2003 | Arson/incendiarism | 630 | 26.6 mi | |
| 2012 | Debris and open burning | 400 | 48.1 mi | |
| 1996 | Debris and open burning | 333 | 27.4 mi | |
| 2000 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 282 | 26.6 mi | |
| 2000 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 232 | 26.6 mi | |
| 2018 | Debris and open burning | 200 | 48.9 mi | |
| 2015 | Debris and open burning | 195 | 32.0 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 | 61486 | 66 |
Six Illinois cities with population within ±25% of Viola. 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.