In 2025, fire departments serving Wayne City responded to 27 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 70% of all calls.
Mar peaks. Jan dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
97 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2025. 1 civilian deaths.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021* | 10 | — | |
| 2022 | 22 | — | |
| 2023 | 13 | -40.9% | |
| 2024 | 25 | +92.3% | |
| 2025 | 27 | +8.0% |
* Well below Wayne City'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 8 building fires Wayne City departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 64 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 | 15 | 23.4% | |
| 2 | Undetermined | 13 | 20.3% | |
| 3 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 9 | 14.1% | |
| 4 | Highway, parking lot, street: on or near | 8 | 12.5% | |
| 5 | Exterior, exposed surface | 3 | 4.7% | |
| 6 | Outside area, other | 3 | 4.7% | |
| 7 | Bedroom - < 5 persons; included are jail or prison | 2 | 3.1% | |
| 8 | Office | 1 | 1.6% | |
| 9 | Storage room, area, tank, or bin | 1 | 1.6% | |
| 10 | Vehicle storage area; garage, carport | 1 | 1.6% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 8 | 12.5% |
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 Wayne City mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 38 | 59.4% | |
| 2 | Flying brand, ember, spark | 7 | 10.9% | |
| 3 | Hot ember or ash | 4 | 6.2% | |
| 4 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 3 | 4.7% | |
| 5 | Arcing | 3 | 4.7% | |
| 6 | Heat from direct flame, convection currents | 2 | 3.1% | |
| 7 | Multiple heat sources including multiple ignitions | 2 | 3.1% | |
| 8 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 1 | 1.6% | |
| 9 | Heat, spark from friction | 1 | 1.6% | |
| 10 | Cigarette | 1 | 1.6% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 2 | 3.1% |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Wayne City sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 2,898 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2009 | Equipment and vehicle use | 1,000 | 32.8 mi | |
| 2007 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 225 | 39.7 mi | |
| 2020 | Equipment and vehicle use | 177 | 48.5 mi | |
| 2020 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 176 | 48.5 mi | |
| 2009 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 160 | 32.8 mi | |
| 2005 | Debris and open burning | 160 | 43.3 mi | |
| 2004 | Debris and open burning | 150 | 42.5 mi | |
| 2005 | Debris and open burning | 115 | 47.5 mi | |
| 2007 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 100 | 46.6 mi | |
| 2019 | Debris and open burning | 97 | 44.1 mi | |
| 2013 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 80 | 39.3 mi | |
| 2011 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 70 | 41.5 mi |
Top 3 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 Wayne City. 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.