In 2025, fire departments serving Franklin Park responded to 154 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $60K 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 68% of all calls.
Sep peaks. Dec dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
1,063 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2024. $5.3M cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 199 | — | |
| 2022 | 206 | +3.5% | |
| 2023 | 207 | +0.5% | |
| 2024 | 297 | +43.5% | |
| 2025 | 154 | -48.1% |
For the 20 building fires Franklin Park departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 251 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 | 45 | 17.9% | |
| 2 | Outside area, other | 45 | 17.9% | |
| 3 | Cooking area, kitchen | 20 | 8.0% | |
| 4 | Undetermined | 14 | 5.6% | |
| 5 | Highway, parking lot, street: on or near | 12 | 4.8% | |
| 6 | Chute/container - trash, rubbish, waste | 11 | 4.4% | |
| 7 | Operator/passenger area of transportation equip. | 8 | 3.2% | |
| 8 | Equipment or service area, other | 7 | 2.8% | |
| 9 | Vehicle storage area; garage, carport | 6 | 2.4% | |
| 10 | Conveyor | 6 | 2.4% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 77 | 30.7% |
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 Franklin Park mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 108 | 43.0% | |
| 2 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 21 | 8.4% | |
| 3 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 16 | 6.4% | |
| 4 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 15 | 6.0% | |
| 5 | Arcing | 14 | 5.6% | |
| 6 | Hot ember or ash | 11 | 4.4% | |
| 7 | Cigarette | 10 | 4.0% | |
| 8 | Chemical reaction | 7 | 2.8% | |
| 9 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 6 | 2.4% | |
| 10 | Fireworks | 6 | 2.4% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 37 | 14.7% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Franklin Park departments in 2025. These 8 fires alone account for 80% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $60,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 2 | $50,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $50,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 4 | $35,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 5 | $15,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 6 | $14,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 7 | $10,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 8 | $10,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Franklin Park sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 6,252 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 | 32.2 mi | |
| 2003 | Natural | 600 | 45.9 mi | |
| 2003 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 450 | 32.2 mi | |
| 2002 | Railroad operations and maintenance | 396 | 38.3 mi | |
| 1993 | Railroad operations and maintenance | 341 | 38.2 mi | |
| 2012 | Railroad operations and maintenance | 291 | 37.8 mi | |
| 2019 | Railroad operations and maintenance | 274 | 38.8 mi | |
| 1995 | Debris and open burning | 253 | 39.0 mi | |
| 1996 | Railroad operations and maintenance | 244 | 38.2 mi | |
| 2003 | Debris and open burning | 232 | 42.3 mi | |
| 2019 | Railroad operations and maintenance | 216 | 38.4 mi | |
| 2003 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 204 | 37.6 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 Franklin Park. 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.