In 2025, fire departments serving Wilmington responded to 220 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $100K building blaze. Here's the full picture.
Power line down lead by count. Building fires lead by dollars. Together the top five categories make up about 72% of all calls.
May peaks. Dec dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
897 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2024. $2.2M cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 144 | — | |
| 2022 | 140 | -2.8% | |
| 2023 | 158 | +12.9% | |
| 2024 | 235 | +48.7% | |
| 2025 | 220 | -6.4% |
For the 42 building fires Wilmington departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 140 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 | 49 | 35.0% | |
| 2 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 30 | 21.4% | |
| 3 | Cooking area, kitchen | 8 | 5.7% | |
| 4 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 6 | 4.3% | |
| 5 | Bedroom - < 5 persons; included are jail or prison | 4 | 2.9% | |
| 6 | Laundry area, wash house (laundry) | 3 | 2.1% | |
| 7 | Vehicle storage area; garage, carport | 3 | 2.1% | |
| 8 | Wall surface: exterior | 3 | 2.1% | |
| 9 | Cargo/trunk area - all vehicles | 3 | 2.1% | |
| 10 | Exterior, exposed surface | 3 | 2.1% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 28 | 20.0% |
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 Wilmington mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 91 | 65.0% | |
| 2 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 13 | 9.3% | |
| 3 | Hot ember or ash | 9 | 6.4% | |
| 4 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 4 | 2.9% | |
| 5 | Multiple heat sources including multiple ignitions | 4 | 2.9% | |
| 6 | Arcing | 3 | 2.1% | |
| 7 | Heat, spark from friction | 3 | 2.1% | |
| 8 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 2 | 1.4% | |
| 9 | Flying brand, ember, spark | 2 | 1.4% | |
| 10 | Heat source: other | 1 | 0.7% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 8 | 5.7% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Wilmington departments in 2025. These 8 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $100,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 2 | $35,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $20,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 4 | $10,000 | Dumpster or other outside trash receptacle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 5 | $10,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 6 | $10,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 7 | $1,500 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 8 | $1,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Wilmington sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 4,839 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2003 | Natural | 600 | 5.7 mi | |
| 2002 | Railroad operations and maintenance | 396 | 49.7 mi | |
| 1993 | Railroad operations and maintenance | 341 | 49.7 mi | |
| 2012 | Railroad operations and maintenance | 291 | 49.1 mi | |
| 1995 | Debris and open burning | 253 | 48.2 mi | |
| 1996 | Railroad operations and maintenance | 244 | 49.5 mi | |
| 2003 | Debris and open burning | 232 | 3.0 mi | |
| 2019 | Railroad operations and maintenance | 216 | 49.8 mi | |
| 2012 | Debris and open burning | 210 | 43.0 mi | |
| 2003 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 204 | 48.6 mi | |
| 1994 | Railroad operations and maintenance | 190 | 48.1 mi | |
| 2003 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 187 | 49.0 mi |
Top 7 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 Wilmington. 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.