In 2025, fire departments serving Braidwood responded to 103 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $75K 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 86% of all calls.
May peaks. Dec dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
404 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2025. $790K cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 80 | — | |
| 2022 | 73 | -8.8% | |
| 2023 | 67 | -8.2% | |
| 2024 | 81 | +20.9% | |
| 2025 | 103 | +27.2% |
For the 14 building fires Braidwood departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 51 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 | 8 | 15.7% | |
| 2 | Other | 7 | 13.7% | |
| 3 | Undetermined | 5 | 9.8% | |
| 4 | Outside area, other | 4 | 7.8% | |
| 5 | Vehicle storage area; garage, carport | 3 | 5.9% | |
| 6 | Operator/passenger area of transportation equip. | 3 | 5.9% | |
| 7 | Wildland, woods | 3 | 5.9% | |
| 8 | Cooking area, kitchen | 2 | 3.9% | |
| 9 | Exterior balcony, unenclosed porch | 2 | 3.9% | |
| 10 | Wall surface: exterior | 2 | 3.9% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 12 | 23.5% |
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 Braidwood mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 16 | 31.4% | |
| 2 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 9 | 17.6% | |
| 3 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 5 | 9.8% | |
| 4 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 5 | 9.8% | |
| 5 | Heat source: other | 4 | 7.8% | |
| 6 | Arcing | 3 | 5.9% | |
| 7 | Hot ember or ash | 3 | 5.9% | |
| 8 | Fireworks | 2 | 3.9% | |
| 9 | Cigarette | 1 | 2.0% | |
| 10 | Heat from direct flame, convection currents | 1 | 2.0% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 2 | 3.9% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Braidwood departments in 2025. These 8 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $75,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 2 | $60,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $25,000 | Water vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 4 | $10,000 | Brush, or brush and grass mixture fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 5 | $10,000 | Natural vegetation fire, other | Significant | Investigated |
| 6 | $1,500 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 7 | $1,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 8 | $500 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Braidwood sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 2,409 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2003 | Natural | 600 | 5.4 mi | |
| 2003 | Debris and open burning | 232 | 7.0 mi | |
| 2012 | Debris and open burning | 210 | 40.2 mi | |
| 2011 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 160 | 47.1 mi | |
| 2009 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 150 | 3.2 mi | |
| 2020 | Debris and open burning | 110 | 45.0 mi | |
| 2009 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 100 | 3.8 mi | |
| 2010 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 75 | 38.7 mi | |
| 2009 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 70 | 1.4 mi | |
| 2016 | Natural | 67 | 7.0 mi | |
| 2010 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 60 | 49.4 mi | |
| 2017 | Natural | 60 | 40.8 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 Braidwood. 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.