In 2025, fire departments serving Arlington Heights responded to 10 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $5K building blaze. Here's the full picture.
Unauthorized burning lead by count. Building fires lead by dollars. Together the top five categories make up about 80% of all calls.
Apr peaks. Mar dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
81 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2022. $95K cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 12 | — | |
| 2022 | 26 | +116.7% | |
| 2023 | 17 | -34.6% | |
| 2024 | 16 | -5.9% | |
| 2025 | 10 | -37.5% |
For the 2 building fires Arlington Heights departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 19 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 | Highway, parking lot, street: on or near | 4 | 21.1% | |
| 2 | Undetermined | 4 | 21.1% | |
| 3 | Cooking area, kitchen | 2 | 10.5% | |
| 4 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 2 | 10.5% | |
| 5 | Courtyard, patio, porch, terrace | 2 | 10.5% | |
| 6 | Common room, den, family room, living room, lounge | 1 | 5.3% | |
| 7 | Wall surface: exterior | 1 | 5.3% | |
| 8 | Exterior, exposed surface | 1 | 5.3% | |
| 9 | Outside area, other | 1 | 5.3% | |
| 10 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 1 | 5.3% |
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 Arlington Heights mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 14 | 73.7% | |
| 2 | Flame/torch used for lighting | 2 | 10.5% | |
| 3 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 1 | 5.3% | |
| 4 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 1 | 5.3% | |
| 5 | Heat from other open flame or smoking materials | 1 | 5.3% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Arlington Heights departments in 2025. These 1 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $4,500 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Arlington Heights sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 651 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2012 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 125 | 41.0 mi | |
| 2002 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 57 | 23.1 mi | |
| 2010 | Debris and open burning | 53 | 22.2 mi | |
| 2017 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 45 | 39.3 mi | |
| 2004 | Debris and open burning | 45 | 45.1 mi | |
| 2001 | Debris and open burning | 30 | 36.2 mi | |
| 1999 | Debris and open burning | 25 | 41.8 mi | |
| 2010 | Debris and open burning | 25 | 16.6 mi | |
| 2010 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 25 | 27.0 mi | |
| 2001 | Arson/incendiarism | 20 | 33.3 mi | |
| 2018 | Railroad operations and maintenance | 20 | 17.0 mi | |
| 2004 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 18 | 49.1 mi |
Top 1 ZIP codes by NFIRS incident count across 2021–2025. Each ZIP has its own fire profile — dive in for neighborhood-level context.
| # | ZIP | 5-yr incidents | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 45215 | 81 |
Six Ohio cities with population within ±25% of Arlington Heights. 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.