In 2025, fire departments serving Evergreen Park responded to 248 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $225K 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 81% of all calls.
Jun peaks. Dec dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
870 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2025. $1.1M cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 168 | — | |
| 2022 | 157 | -6.5% | |
| 2023 | 162 | +3.2% | |
| 2024 | 135 | -16.7% | |
| 2025 | 248 | +83.7% |
For the 36 building fires Evergreen Park departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 46 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 | 17.4% | |
| 2 | Outside area, other | 8 | 17.4% | |
| 3 | Vehicle storage area; garage, carport | 4 | 8.7% | |
| 4 | Cooking area, kitchen | 3 | 6.5% | |
| 5 | Laundry area, wash house (laundry) | 3 | 6.5% | |
| 6 | Undetermined | 3 | 6.5% | |
| 7 | Vehicle area, other | 2 | 4.3% | |
| 8 | Multiple areas | 2 | 4.3% | |
| 9 | Other | 1 | 2.2% | |
| 10 | Interior stairway or ramp | 1 | 2.2% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 11 | 23.9% |
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 Evergreen Park mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 11 | 23.9% | |
| 2 | Heat source: other | 6 | 13.0% | |
| 3 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 5 | 10.9% | |
| 4 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 4 | 8.7% | |
| 5 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 3 | 6.5% | |
| 6 | Arcing | 3 | 6.5% | |
| 7 | Heat, spark from friction | 3 | 6.5% | |
| 8 | Cigarette | 3 | 6.5% | |
| 9 | Cigarette lighter | 2 | 4.3% | |
| 10 | Fireworks | 1 | 2.2% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 5 | 10.9% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Evergreen Park departments in 2025. These 8 fires alone account for 99% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $225,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 2 | $100,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $100,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 4 | $100,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 5 | $30,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 6 | $30,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 7 | $30,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 8 | $25,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Evergreen Park 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 | 47.1 mi | |
| 2003 | Natural | 600 | 39.5 mi | |
| 2003 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 450 | 47.4 mi | |
| 2002 | Railroad operations and maintenance | 396 | 23.0 mi | |
| 1993 | Railroad operations and maintenance | 341 | 23.0 mi | |
| 2012 | Railroad operations and maintenance | 291 | 22.4 mi | |
| 2019 | Railroad operations and maintenance | 274 | 23.9 mi | |
| 1995 | Debris and open burning | 253 | 23.2 mi | |
| 1996 | Railroad operations and maintenance | 244 | 22.9 mi | |
| 2003 | Debris and open burning | 232 | 34.7 mi | |
| 2019 | Railroad operations and maintenance | 216 | 23.1 mi | |
| 2003 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 204 | 22.1 mi |
Top 5 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 Evergreen Park. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
1 departments report to NFIRS for incidents in Evergreen Park.
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.