In 2025, fire departments serving Grayslake responded to 176 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $100K 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.
Feb peaks. Jun dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
943 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2024. $2.8M cumulative property loss. 1 civilian deaths.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 200 | — | |
| 2022 | 158 | -21.0% | |
| 2023 | 196 | +24.1% | |
| 2024 | 213 | +8.7% | |
| 2025 | 176 | -17.4% |
For the 38 building fires Grayslake departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 156 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 | Undetermined | 28 | 17.9% | |
| 2 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 24 | 15.4% | |
| 3 | Outside area, other | 14 | 9.0% | |
| 4 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 9 | 5.8% | |
| 5 | Vehicle storage area; garage, carport | 8 | 5.1% | |
| 6 | Other | 6 | 3.8% | |
| 7 | Cooking area, kitchen | 6 | 3.8% | |
| 8 | Chute/container - trash, rubbish, waste | 6 | 3.8% | |
| 9 | Wall assembly | 4 | 2.6% | |
| 10 | Vehicle area, other | 4 | 2.6% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 47 | 30.1% |
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 Grayslake mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 72 | 46.2% | |
| 2 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 13 | 8.3% | |
| 3 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 10 | 6.4% | |
| 4 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 9 | 5.8% | |
| 5 | Arcing | 8 | 5.1% | |
| 6 | Hot ember or ash | 8 | 5.1% | |
| 7 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 6 | 3.8% | |
| 8 | Flame/torch used for lighting | 4 | 2.6% | |
| 9 | Candle | 3 | 1.9% | |
| 10 | Heat from direct flame, convection currents | 3 | 1.9% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 20 | 12.8% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Grayslake departments in 2025. These 8 fires alone account for 85% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $100,000 | Off-road vehicle or heavy equipment fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 2 | $80,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $50,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 4 | $50,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 5 | $50,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 6 | $32,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 7 | $28,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 8 | $20,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Grayslake sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
63 fire-related casualties recorded in NFIRS Module 11 across the 2021–2025 window. Age, gender, and severity are coarse-binned — no individual identification possible.
| Age | Count | |
|---|---|---|
| 0-9 | 2 | |
| 10-19 | 1 | |
| 20-29 | 13 | |
| 30-39 | 12 | |
| 40-49 | 22 | |
| 50-59 | 8 | |
| 60-69 | 1 | |
| 70-79 | 0 | |
| 80+ | 0 |
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 2,537 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 | 12.4 mi | |
| 2003 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 450 | 11.2 mi | |
| 2010 | Natural | 200 | 37.7 mi | |
| 2010 | Natural | 180 | 37.3 mi | |
| 2010 | Equipment and vehicle use | 80 | 21.7 mi | |
| 2012 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 80 | 9.5 mi | |
| 2020 | Arson/incendiarism | 76 | 34.2 mi | |
| 2003 | Recreation and ceremony | 75 | 31.7 mi | |
| 2020 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 60 | 32.3 mi | |
| 2010 | Debris and open burning | 53 | 39.4 mi | |
| 2014 | Arson/incendiarism | 50 | 31.1 mi | |
| 2012 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 50 | 13.4 mi |
Top 6 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 Grayslake. 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.