In 2025, fire departments serving Watson responded to 27 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $250K building blaze. Here's the full picture.
Vehicle accident, general cleanup lead by count. Building fires lead by dollars. Together the top five categories make up about 70% of all calls.
Feb peaks. Jan dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
72 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2025. $772K cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021* | 8 | — | |
| 2022 | 9 | — | |
| 2023 | 16 | +77.8% | |
| 2024 | 12 | -25.0% | |
| 2025 | 27 | +125.0% |
* Well below Watson's usual volume. That almost always means one or more departments didn't submit a full year to NFIRS, not that fires dropped, so no year-over-year change is shown for it.
For the 4 building fires Watson departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 33 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 | 13 | 39.4% | |
| 2 | Vehicle storage area; garage, carport | 3 | 9.1% | |
| 3 | Highway, parking lot, street: on or near | 3 | 9.1% | |
| 4 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 3 | 9.1% | |
| 5 | Other | 2 | 6.1% | |
| 6 | Cooking area, kitchen | 2 | 6.1% | |
| 7 | Operator/passenger area of transportation equip. | 2 | 6.1% | |
| 8 | Undetermined | 2 | 6.1% | |
| 9 | Common room, den, family room, living room, lounge | 1 | 3.0% | |
| 10 | Heating room or area, water heater area | 1 | 3.0% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 1 | 3.0% |
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 Watson mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 16 | 48.5% | |
| 2 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 4 | 12.1% | |
| 3 | Hot ember or ash | 3 | 9.1% | |
| 4 | Heat source: other | 2 | 6.1% | |
| 5 | Heat, spark from friction | 2 | 6.1% | |
| 6 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 1 | 3.0% | |
| 7 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 1 | 3.0% | |
| 8 | Cigarette lighter | 1 | 3.0% | |
| 9 | Backfire from internal combustion engine | 1 | 3.0% | |
| 10 | Heat spread from another fire, other | 1 | 3.0% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 1 | 3.0% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Watson departments in 2025. These 5 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $250,000 | Building fires | Major | Investigated |
| 2 | $45,000 | Fire, other | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $30,000 | Fire, other | Significant | Investigated |
| 4 | $8,000 | Off-road vehicle or heavy equipment fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 5 | $7,000 | Fire in motor home, camper, recreational vehicle | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Watson sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 24 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 1,028 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2009 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 160 | 36.7 mi | |
| 2013 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 100 | 28.9 mi | |
| 2013 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 80 | 43.9 mi | |
| 2009 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 80 | 39.1 mi | |
| 2014 | Debris and open burning | 80 | 37.8 mi | |
| 2014 | Debris and open burning | 80 | 38.4 mi | |
| 2009 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 60 | 38.3 mi | |
| 2014 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 60 | 18.4 mi | |
| 2003 | Debris and open burning | 50 | 49.4 mi | |
| 2014 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 35 | 47.8 mi | |
| 2014 | Debris and open burning | 30 | 41.1 mi | |
| 2013 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 30 | 36.0 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 Watson. 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.