In 2025, fire departments serving Hodgkins responded to 35 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $20K 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 54% of all calls.
Feb peaks. Jan dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
258 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2022. $922K cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 49 | — | |
| 2022 | 62 | +26.5% | |
| 2023 | 50 | -19.4% | |
| 2024 | 62 | +24.0% | |
| 2025 | 35 | -43.5% |
For the 2 building fires Hodgkins departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 52 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 | 20 | 38.5% | |
| 2 | Undetermined | 14 | 26.9% | |
| 3 | Exterior, exposed surface | 4 | 7.7% | |
| 4 | Bedroom - < 5 persons; included are jail or prison | 3 | 5.8% | |
| 5 | Vehicle area, other | 2 | 3.8% | |
| 6 | Railroad right of way: on or near | 2 | 3.8% | |
| 7 | Processing/manufacturing area, workroom | 1 | 1.9% | |
| 8 | Shipping/receiving area; loading area, dock or bay | 1 | 1.9% | |
| 9 | Vehicle storage area; garage, carport | 1 | 1.9% | |
| 10 | Service facilities, other | 1 | 1.9% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 3 | 5.8% |
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 Hodgkins mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 32 | 61.5% | |
| 2 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 4 | 7.7% | |
| 3 | Arcing | 3 | 5.8% | |
| 4 | Heat from other open flame or smoking materials | 3 | 5.8% | |
| 5 | Heat from direct flame, convection currents | 3 | 5.8% | |
| 6 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 2 | 3.8% | |
| 7 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 2 | 3.8% | |
| 8 | Heat, spark from friction | 1 | 1.9% | |
| 9 | Heat from undetermined smoking material | 1 | 1.9% | |
| 10 | Heat spread from another fire, other | 1 | 1.9% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Hodgkins departments in 2025. These 4 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $20,000 | Rail vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 2 | $12,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $5,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 4 | $2,000 | Trash or rubbish fire, contained | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Hodgkins 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 | 43.8 mi | |
| 2003 | Natural | 600 | 36.2 mi | |
| 2003 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 450 | 43.8 mi | |
| 2002 | Railroad operations and maintenance | 396 | 31.9 mi | |
| 1993 | Railroad operations and maintenance | 341 | 31.8 mi | |
| 2012 | Railroad operations and maintenance | 291 | 31.2 mi | |
| 2019 | Railroad operations and maintenance | 274 | 32.7 mi | |
| 1995 | Debris and open burning | 253 | 32.0 mi | |
| 1996 | Railroad operations and maintenance | 244 | 31.7 mi | |
| 2003 | Debris and open burning | 232 | 32.1 mi | |
| 2019 | Railroad operations and maintenance | 216 | 31.9 mi | |
| 2003 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 204 | 30.9 mi |
Top 2 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 Hodgkins. 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.