In 2025, fire departments serving Green Oaks responded to 21 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $15K 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 57% of all calls.
Dec peaks. Jan dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
106 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2023. $309K cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021* | 7 | — | |
| 2022* | 12 | — | |
| 2023 | 38 | — | |
| 2024 | 28 | -26.3% | |
| 2025 | 21 | -25.0% |
* Well below Green Oaks's usual volume. That almost always means one or more departments didn't submit a full year to NFIRS, not that fires dropped, so no year-over-year change is shown for it.
For the 0 building fires Green Oaks departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 27 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 | 7 | 25.9% | |
| 2 | Undetermined | 6 | 22.2% | |
| 3 | Cooking area, kitchen | 3 | 11.1% | |
| 4 | Vehicle area, other | 2 | 7.4% | |
| 5 | Other | 1 | 3.7% | |
| 6 | Common room, den, family room, living room, lounge | 1 | 3.7% | |
| 7 | Processing/manufacturing area, workroom | 1 | 3.7% | |
| 8 | Storage area, other | 1 | 3.7% | |
| 9 | Closet | 1 | 3.7% | |
| 10 | Wall assembly | 1 | 3.7% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 3 | 11.1% |
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 Green Oaks mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 13 | 48.1% | |
| 2 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 4 | 14.8% | |
| 3 | Heat from other open flame or smoking materials | 2 | 7.4% | |
| 4 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 1 | 3.7% | |
| 5 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 1 | 3.7% | |
| 6 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 1 | 3.7% | |
| 7 | Heat, spark from friction | 1 | 3.7% | |
| 8 | Hot ember or ash | 1 | 3.7% | |
| 9 | Heat from undetermined smoking material | 1 | 3.7% | |
| 10 | Cigarette lighter | 1 | 3.7% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 1 | 3.7% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Green Oaks departments in 2025. These 3 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $15,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 2 | $1,500 | Off-road vehicle or heavy equipment fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $1,000 | Road freight or transport vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Green Oaks sits below the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 2,528 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 | 9.0 mi | |
| 2003 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 450 | 8.3 mi | |
| 2010 | Natural | 200 | 42.0 mi | |
| 2010 | Natural | 180 | 41.6 mi | |
| 2010 | Equipment and vehicle use | 80 | 27.1 mi | |
| 2012 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 80 | 16.3 mi | |
| 2020 | Arson/incendiarism | 76 | 39.4 mi | |
| 2003 | Recreation and ceremony | 75 | 34.8 mi | |
| 2020 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 60 | 38.8 mi | |
| 2010 | Debris and open burning | 53 | 45.5 mi | |
| 2014 | Arson/incendiarism | 50 | 32.3 mi | |
| 2012 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 50 | 11.9 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 Green Oaks. 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.