In 2025, fire departments serving Union County responded to 123 fire and hazmat incidents — including a single $300K property loss. FEMA NRI rates wildfire risk here as Moderate.
Building fires lead by count. Top five categories make up about 56% of all calls.
Mar peaks. Jan dips.
2,280 incidents from 2021 through 2025.
| Year | Incidents | |
|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 493 | |
| 2022 | 622 | |
| 2023 | 644 | |
| 2024 | 398 | |
| 2025 | 123 |
For the 20 building fires departments responded to in 2025, here's how investigators classified them.
Largest single-incident property losses in Union County during 2025. These 10 fires alone account for 99% of the county's total.
| # | Property loss | City | Type | Severity |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $300,000 | Jonesville | Fires in structures other than in a building | Major |
| 2 | $200,000 | CARLISLE | Building fires | Significant |
| 3 | $75,000 | union | Building fires | Significant |
| 4 | $50,000 | union | Building fires | Significant |
| 5 | $20,000 | union | Building fires | Significant |
| 6 | $15,000 | Union | Fire in mobile prop. used as a fixed struc., other | Significant |
| 7 | $12,000 | Union | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant |
| 8 | $6,000 | Union | Fires in structures other than in a building | Significant |
| 9 | $5,000 | Union | Building fires | Significant |
| 10 | $3,000 | union | Fire in portable building, fixed location | Significant |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples.
12 cities mapped to FIPS 45087.
| City | Population | |
|---|---|---|
| Union | 8,099 | View › |
| Monarch Mill | 1,766 | View › |
| Buffalo | 1,159 | View › |
| Jonesville | 925 | View › |
| Carlisle | 526 | View › |
| Lockhart | 459 | View › |
| West Springs | 0 | View › |
| Pinckneyville | 0 | View › |
| South Hills | 0 | View › |
| Mean Crossroads | 0 | View › |
| Kelly | 0 | View › |
| Goshen Hill | 0 | View › |
8 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 | Turn Table | 2017 | USFS | 1,694 |
| 2 | SCWAR-FY19-RX-Sandy Island 2019 | 2019 | PRI | 1,655 |
| 3 | Memorial | 2019 | USFS | 1,635 |
| 4 | Cumbee | 2018 | USFS | 1,629 |
| 5 | Bullhead | 2017 | USFS | 1,115 |
| 6 | SCCRR-FY19-RX-0803 | 2019 | FWS | 1,038 |
| 7 | Mill Mountain | 2023 | USFS | 935 |
| 8 | Keepers Branch | 2018 | USFS | 766 |
| 9 | SCCRR-FY19-RX-0704 | 2019 | FWS | 730 |
| 10 | Calestown | 2018 | USFS | 616 |
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.