In 2025, fire departments serving Wenona responded to 17 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 65% of all calls.
Aug peaks. Jan dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
85 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2023. $126K cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 12 | — | |
| 2022 | 18 | +50.0% | |
| 2023 | 20 | +11.1% | |
| 2024 | 18 | -10.0% | |
| 2025 | 17 | -5.6% |
For the 3 building fires Wenona departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 25 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 | Outside area, other | 8 | 32.0% | |
| 2 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 5 | 20.0% | |
| 3 | Undetermined | 4 | 16.0% | |
| 4 | Vehicle area, other | 2 | 8.0% | |
| 5 | Other | 1 | 4.0% | |
| 6 | Cooking area, kitchen | 1 | 4.0% | |
| 7 | Storage area, other | 1 | 4.0% | |
| 8 | Machinery room or area; elevator machinery room | 1 | 4.0% | |
| 9 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 1 | 4.0% | |
| 10 | Highway, parking lot, street: on or near | 1 | 4.0% |
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 Wenona mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 10 | 40.0% | |
| 2 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 4 | 16.0% | |
| 3 | Heat source: other | 3 | 12.0% | |
| 4 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 3 | 12.0% | |
| 5 | Heat from direct flame, convection currents | 2 | 8.0% | |
| 6 | Arcing | 1 | 4.0% | |
| 7 | Hot ember or ash | 1 | 4.0% | |
| 8 | Heat spread from another fire, other | 1 | 4.0% |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Wenona sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 2,523 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2003 | Natural | 600 | 45.4 mi | |
| 2012 | Debris and open burning | 210 | 20.3 mi | |
| 2018 | Debris and open burning | 200 | 42.9 mi | |
| 2014 | Debris and open burning | 200 | 21.9 mi | |
| 2009 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 150 | 43.2 mi | |
| 2020 | Debris and open burning | 110 | 12.2 mi | |
| 2009 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 100 | 43.4 mi | |
| 2010 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 75 | 35.4 mi | |
| 2009 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 70 | 45.3 mi | |
| 2014 | Debris and open burning | 60 | 9.1 mi | |
| 2010 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 60 | 11.3 mi | |
| 2017 | Natural | 60 | 20.5 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 Wenona. 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.