In 2025, fire departments serving Indian Head Park responded to 25 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $50K 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 76% of all calls.
Jul peaks. Jan dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
114 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2022. $704K cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 18 | — | |
| 2022 | 30 | +66.7% | |
| 2023 | 15 | -50.0% | |
| 2024 | 26 | +73.3% | |
| 2025 | 25 | -3.8% |
For the 2 building fires Indian Head Park departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 17 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 | 9 | 52.9% | |
| 2 | Vehicle storage area; garage, carport | 2 | 11.8% | |
| 3 | Cargo/trunk area - all vehicles | 2 | 11.8% | |
| 4 | Common room, den, family room, living room, lounge | 1 | 5.9% | |
| 5 | Cooking area, kitchen | 1 | 5.9% | |
| 6 | Bathroom, checkroom, lavatory, locker room | 1 | 5.9% | |
| 7 | Courtyard, patio, porch, terrace | 1 | 5.9% |
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 Indian Head Park mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 13 | 76.5% | |
| 2 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 2 | 11.8% | |
| 3 | Heat source: other | 1 | 5.9% | |
| 4 | Heat from other open flame or smoking materials | 1 | 5.9% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Indian Head Park departments in 2025. These 3 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $50,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 2 | $10,000 | Road freight or transport vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $10,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Indian Head Park sits below 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 | 35.3 mi | |
| 2003 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 450 | 43.7 mi | |
| 2002 | Railroad operations and maintenance | 396 | 33.7 mi | |
| 1993 | Railroad operations and maintenance | 341 | 33.7 mi | |
| 2012 | Railroad operations and maintenance | 291 | 33.1 mi | |
| 2019 | Railroad operations and maintenance | 274 | 34.6 mi | |
| 1995 | Debris and open burning | 253 | 33.8 mi | |
| 1996 | Railroad operations and maintenance | 244 | 33.5 mi | |
| 2003 | Debris and open burning | 232 | 31.4 mi | |
| 2019 | Railroad operations and maintenance | 216 | 33.8 mi | |
| 2003 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 204 | 32.7 mi |
Top 1 ZIP codes by NFIRS incident count across 2021–2025. Each ZIP has its own fire profile — dive in for neighborhood-level context.
| # | ZIP | 5-yr incidents | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 60525 | 114 |
Six Illinois cities with population within ±25% of Indian Head 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.