In 2025, fire departments serving Barrington Hills responded to 90 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $25K 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 76% of all calls.
Aug peaks. Feb dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
331 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2023. $1.3M cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 49 | — | |
| 2022* | 36 | — | |
| 2023 | 100 | — | |
| 2024 | 56 | -44.0% | |
| 2025 | 90 | +60.7% |
* Well below Barrington Hills's usual volume. That almost always means one or more departments didn't submit a full year to NFIRS, not that fires dropped, so no year-over-year change is shown for it.
For the 20 building fires Barrington Hills departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 62 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 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 11 | 17.7% | |
| 2 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 9 | 14.5% | |
| 3 | Undetermined | 9 | 14.5% | |
| 4 | Outside area, other | 6 | 9.7% | |
| 5 | Wildland, woods | 6 | 9.7% | |
| 6 | Highway, parking lot, street: on or near | 3 | 4.8% | |
| 7 | Vehicle storage area; garage, carport | 2 | 3.2% | |
| 8 | Wall surface: exterior | 2 | 3.2% | |
| 9 | Vehicle area, other | 2 | 3.2% | |
| 10 | Exterior, exposed surface | 2 | 3.2% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 10 | 16.1% |
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 Barrington Hills mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 26 | 41.9% | |
| 2 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 8 | 12.9% | |
| 3 | Hot ember or ash | 7 | 11.3% | |
| 4 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 4 | 6.5% | |
| 5 | Arcing | 3 | 4.8% | |
| 6 | Heat source: other | 2 | 3.2% | |
| 7 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 2 | 3.2% | |
| 8 | Chemical reaction | 2 | 3.2% | |
| 9 | Heat from direct flame, convection currents | 2 | 3.2% | |
| 10 | Flying brand, ember, spark | 2 | 3.2% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 4 | 6.5% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Barrington Hills departments in 2025. These 5 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $25,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 2 | $10,000 | Road freight or transport vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $4,500 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 4 | $1,500 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 5 | $1,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Barrington Hills sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 2,185 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2015 | Misuse of fire by a minor | 750 | 27.1 mi | |
| 2003 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 450 | 26.2 mi | |
| 2010 | Equipment and vehicle use | 80 | 34.4 mi | |
| 2012 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 80 | 15.0 mi | |
| 2020 | Arson/incendiarism | 76 | 46.3 mi | |
| 2003 | Recreation and ceremony | 75 | 16.5 mi | |
| 2020 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 60 | 40.4 mi | |
| 2010 | Debris and open burning | 53 | 48.8 mi | |
| 2014 | Arson/incendiarism | 50 | 14.8 mi | |
| 2012 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 50 | 29.2 mi | |
| 2012 | Debris and open burning | 49 | 12.1 mi | |
| 2012 | Arson/incendiarism | 46 | 33.0 mi |
Top 4 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 Barrington Hills. 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.