In 2025, fire departments serving Burr Ridge responded to 121 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $589K 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 70% of all calls.
Jul peaks. Apr dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
492 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2025. $3.0M cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 102 | — | |
| 2022 | 99 | -2.9% | |
| 2023 | 89 | -10.1% | |
| 2024 | 81 | -9.0% | |
| 2025 | 121 | +49.4% |
For the 10 building fires Burr Ridge departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 67 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 | 24 | 35.8% | |
| 2 | Undetermined | 14 | 20.9% | |
| 3 | Vehicle storage area; garage, carport | 4 | 6.0% | |
| 4 | Common room, den, family room, living room, lounge | 3 | 4.5% | |
| 5 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 3 | 4.5% | |
| 6 | Cooking area, kitchen | 2 | 3.0% | |
| 7 | Laundry area, wash house (laundry) | 2 | 3.0% | |
| 8 | Office | 2 | 3.0% | |
| 9 | Roof surface: exterior | 2 | 3.0% | |
| 10 | Outside area, other | 2 | 3.0% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 9 | 13.4% |
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 Burr Ridge mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 31 | 46.3% | |
| 2 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 10 | 14.9% | |
| 3 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 7 | 10.4% | |
| 4 | Heat source: other | 5 | 7.5% | |
| 5 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 3 | 4.5% | |
| 6 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 2 | 3.0% | |
| 7 | Arcing | 2 | 3.0% | |
| 8 | Heat from other open flame or smoking materials | 2 | 3.0% | |
| 9 | Heat, spark from friction | 1 | 1.5% | |
| 10 | Hot ember or ash | 1 | 1.5% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 3 | 4.5% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Burr Ridge departments in 2025. These 8 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $589,000 | Building fires | Major | Investigated |
| 2 | $40,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $35,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 4 | $30,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 5 | $10,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 6 | $2,200 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 7 | $2,000 | Outside stationary compactor/compacted trash fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 8 | $100 | Dumpster or other outside trash receptacle fire | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Burr Ridge sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 6,291 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 | 45.3 mi | |
| 2003 | Natural | 600 | 33.5 mi | |
| 2003 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 450 | 45.2 mi | |
| 2002 | Railroad operations and maintenance | 396 | 34.3 mi | |
| 1993 | Railroad operations and maintenance | 341 | 34.3 mi | |
| 2012 | Railroad operations and maintenance | 291 | 33.7 mi | |
| 2019 | Railroad operations and maintenance | 274 | 35.3 mi | |
| 1995 | Debris and open burning | 253 | 34.3 mi | |
| 1996 | Railroad operations and maintenance | 244 | 34.2 mi | |
| 2003 | Debris and open burning | 232 | 29.6 mi | |
| 2019 | Railroad operations and maintenance | 216 | 34.4 mi | |
| 2003 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 204 | 33.4 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 Burr Ridge. 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.