In 2025, fire departments serving East Dundee responded to 77 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $400K 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 69% of all calls.
Apr peaks. May dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
363 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2021. $948K cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 93 | — | |
| 2022 | 75 | -19.4% | |
| 2023 | 58 | -22.7% | |
| 2024 | 60 | +3.4% | |
| 2025 | 77 | +28.3% |
For the 8 building fires East Dundee departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 48 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 | Outside area, other | 11 | 22.9% | |
| 2 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 9 | 18.8% | |
| 3 | Undetermined | 8 | 16.7% | |
| 4 | Cooking area, kitchen | 4 | 8.3% | |
| 5 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 4 | 8.3% | |
| 6 | Wildland, woods | 3 | 6.2% | |
| 7 | Chute/container - trash, rubbish, waste | 2 | 4.2% | |
| 8 | Wall surface: exterior | 2 | 4.2% | |
| 9 | Vehicle area, other | 1 | 2.1% | |
| 10 | Operator/passenger area of transportation equip. | 1 | 2.1% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 3 | 6.2% |
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 East Dundee mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 21 | 43.8% | |
| 2 | Chemical reaction | 6 | 12.5% | |
| 3 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 5 | 10.4% | |
| 4 | Arcing | 5 | 10.4% | |
| 5 | Hot ember or ash | 3 | 6.2% | |
| 6 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 2 | 4.2% | |
| 7 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 1 | 2.1% | |
| 8 | Cigarette | 1 | 2.1% | |
| 9 | Candle | 1 | 2.1% | |
| 10 | Chemical, natural heat source, other | 1 | 2.1% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 2 | 4.2% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by East Dundee departments in 2025. These 5 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $400,000 | Road freight or transport vehicle fire | Major | Investigated |
| 2 | $10,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $2,500 | Brush, or brush and grass mixture fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 4 | $1,000 | Outside rubbish, trash or waste fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 5 | $200 | Cooking fire, confined to container | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. East Dundee sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 2,311 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 | 31.1 mi | |
| 2003 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 450 | 30.2 mi | |
| 2010 | Debris and open burning | 100 | 48.3 mi | |
| 2010 | Equipment and vehicle use | 80 | 37.5 mi | |
| 2012 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 80 | 18.0 mi | |
| 2020 | Arson/incendiarism | 76 | 49.2 mi | |
| 2003 | Recreation and ceremony | 75 | 12.9 mi | |
| 2010 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 70 | 47.6 mi | |
| 2020 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 60 | 42.6 mi | |
| 2014 | Arson/incendiarism | 50 | 11.0 mi | |
| 2015 | Debris and open burning | 50 | 46.5 mi | |
| 2012 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 50 | 33.2 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 | 60118 | 363 |
Six Illinois cities with population within ±25% of East Dundee. 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.