In 2025, fire departments serving Crest Hill responded to 125 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $80K building blaze. Here's the full picture.
Gas leak (natural gas or LPG) lead by count. Building fires lead by dollars. Together the top five categories make up about 73% of all calls.
Jul peaks. Sep dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
562 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2025. $302K cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 123 | — | |
| 2022 | 89 | -27.6% | |
| 2023 | 110 | +23.6% | |
| 2024 | 115 | +4.5% | |
| 2025 | 125 | +8.7% |
For the 9 building fires Crest Hill departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 63 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 | 15 | 23.8% | |
| 2 | Undetermined | 6 | 9.5% | |
| 3 | Laundry area, wash house (laundry) | 5 | 7.9% | |
| 4 | Vehicle storage area; garage, carport | 4 | 6.3% | |
| 5 | Vehicle area, other | 4 | 6.3% | |
| 6 | Common room, den, family room, living room, lounge | 3 | 4.8% | |
| 7 | Cooking area, kitchen | 3 | 4.8% | |
| 8 | Outside area, other | 3 | 4.8% | |
| 9 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 3 | 4.8% | |
| 10 | Egress/exit, other | 2 | 3.2% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 15 | 23.8% |
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 Crest Hill mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 28 | 44.4% | |
| 2 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 8 | 12.7% | |
| 3 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 7 | 11.1% | |
| 4 | Heat from other open flame or smoking materials | 6 | 9.5% | |
| 5 | Heat from direct flame, convection currents | 4 | 6.3% | |
| 6 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 2 | 3.2% | |
| 7 | Arcing | 2 | 3.2% | |
| 8 | Cigarette | 2 | 3.2% | |
| 9 | Heat source: other | 1 | 1.6% | |
| 10 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 1 | 1.6% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 2 | 3.2% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Crest Hill departments in 2025. These 8 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $80,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 2 | $15,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $12,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 4 | $6,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 5 | $2,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 6 | $1,000 | Cooking fire, confined to container | Significant | Investigated |
| 7 | $800 | Cooking fire, confined to container | Significant | Investigated |
| 8 | $750 | Cooking fire, confined to container | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Crest Hill sits below the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 5,412 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2003 | Natural | 600 | 18.0 mi | |
| 2002 | Railroad operations and maintenance | 396 | 42.9 mi | |
| 1993 | Railroad operations and maintenance | 341 | 43.0 mi | |
| 2012 | Railroad operations and maintenance | 291 | 42.3 mi | |
| 2019 | Railroad operations and maintenance | 274 | 44.1 mi | |
| 1995 | Debris and open burning | 253 | 42.1 mi | |
| 1996 | Railroad operations and maintenance | 244 | 42.8 mi | |
| 2003 | Debris and open burning | 232 | 14.7 mi | |
| 2019 | Railroad operations and maintenance | 216 | 43.0 mi | |
| 2012 | Debris and open burning | 210 | 48.3 mi | |
| 2003 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 204 | 41.8 mi | |
| 1994 | Railroad operations and maintenance | 191 | 43.3 mi |
Top 9 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 Crest Hill. 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.