In 2025, fire departments serving Cass County responded to 139 fire and hazmat incidents — including a single $80K property loss.
Building fires lead by count. Top five categories make up about 50% of all calls.
Mar peaks. Dec dips.
613 incidents from 2021 through 2025.
| Year | Incidents | |
|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 104 | |
| 2022 | 134 | |
| 2023 | 116 | |
| 2024 | 120 | |
| 2025 | 139 |
For the 17 building fires departments responded to in 2025, here's how investigators classified them.
Largest single-incident property losses in Cass County during 2025. These 10 fires alone account for 84% of the county's total.
| # | Property loss | City | Type | Severity |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $80,000 | Beardstown | Vehicle accident, general cleanup | Significant |
| 2 | $75,000 | Arenzville | Fires in structures other than in a building | Significant |
| 3 | $20,000 | Beardstown | Vehicle accident, general cleanup | Significant |
| 4 | $20,000 | Beardstown | Building fires | Significant |
| 5 | $20,000 | Beardstown | Building fires | Significant |
| 6 | $12,000 | Ashland | Off-road vehicle or heavy equipment fire | Significant |
| 7 | $10,000 | Beardstown | Building fires | Significant |
| 8 | $10,000 | Beardstown | Dumpster or other outside trash receptacle fire | Significant |
| 9 | $10,000 | Beardstown | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant |
| 10 | $10,000 | Beardstown | Vehicle accident, general cleanup | Significant |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples.
12 cities mapped to FIPS 17017.
| City | Population | |
|---|---|---|
| Beardstown | 5,884 | View › |
| Virginia | 1,490 | View › |
| Ashland | 1,171 | View › |
| Chandlerville | 605 | View › |
| Arenzville | 326 | View › |
| Burlingame | 0 | View › |
| Little Indian | 0 | View › |
| Kisch | 0 | View › |
| Bluff Springs | 0 | View › |
| Old Princeton | 0 | View › |
| Newmansville | 0 | View › |
| Philadelphia | 0 | View › |
5 departments report from this county.
Top 10 fire perimeters by acres burned (state-scoped fallback while we build out per-county polygons).
| # | Name | Year | Agency | Acres |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Red Shale RX | 2024 | FWS | 1,290 |
| 2 | Herrin Flats RX | 2024 | FWS | 1,134 |
| 3 | Beach RX | 2024 | FWS | 864 |
| 4 | Hampton North RX | 2024 | FWS | 708 |
| 5 | Hampton RX | 2024 | FWS | 668 |
| 6 | Grassy Creek 2 RX | 2024 | FWS | 621 |
| 7 | Chamness RX | 2024 | FWS | 610 |
| 8 | Greenbriar RX | 2024 | FWS | 590 |
| 9 | COR - Devils Kitchen West RX | 2024 | FWS | 468 |
| 10 | Smith RX | 2024 | FWS | 366 |
County-level NFIRS aggregates for 2025, plus 5-year totals across 2021–2025. NFIRS is voluntary — about 23,000 of roughly 30,000 US fire departments report — so totals are a strong indicator, not a complete census. Wildfire risk score (0–100) and Expected Annual Loss come from FEMA's National Risk Index. Drought class is the most recent USDM classification (D0 = abnormally dry through D4 = exceptional drought). Historical fire perimeters are sourced from the NIFC InterAgency Fire Perimeter History.