In 2025, fire departments serving Itasca responded to 105 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $400K 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 62% of all calls.
Aug peaks. Feb dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
596 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2023. $1.0M cumulative property loss. 3 civilian deaths.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 120 | — | |
| 2022 | 109 | -9.2% | |
| 2023 | 140 | +28.4% | |
| 2024 | 122 | -12.9% | |
| 2025 | 105 | -13.9% |
For the 7 building fires Itasca departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 78 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 | 23 | 29.5% | |
| 2 | Undetermined | 16 | 20.5% | |
| 3 | Vehicle area, other | 6 | 7.7% | |
| 4 | Outside area, other | 6 | 7.7% | |
| 5 | Laundry area, wash house (laundry) | 3 | 3.8% | |
| 6 | Operator/passenger area of transportation equip. | 3 | 3.8% | |
| 7 | Cargo/trunk area - all vehicles | 3 | 3.8% | |
| 8 | Cooking area, kitchen | 2 | 2.6% | |
| 9 | Bathroom, checkroom, lavatory, locker room | 2 | 2.6% | |
| 10 | Machinery room or area; elevator machinery room | 2 | 2.6% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 12 | 15.4% |
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 Itasca mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 36 | 46.2% | |
| 2 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 11 | 14.1% | |
| 3 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 6 | 7.7% | |
| 4 | Heat source: other | 5 | 6.4% | |
| 5 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 4 | 5.1% | |
| 6 | Arcing | 4 | 5.1% | |
| 7 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 4 | 5.1% | |
| 8 | Heat, spark from friction | 3 | 3.8% | |
| 9 | Molten, hot material | 2 | 2.6% | |
| 10 | Hot ember or ash | 1 | 1.3% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 2 | 2.6% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Itasca departments in 2025. These 6 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $400,000 | Building fires | Major | Investigated |
| 2 | $10,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $10,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 4 | $1,500 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 5 | $1,500 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 6 | $1,000 | Fire, other | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Itasca 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 | 31.1 mi | |
| 2003 | Natural | 600 | 45.9 mi | |
| 2003 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 450 | 30.8 mi | |
| 2002 | Railroad operations and maintenance | 396 | 45.8 mi | |
| 1993 | Railroad operations and maintenance | 341 | 45.7 mi | |
| 2012 | Railroad operations and maintenance | 291 | 45.2 mi | |
| 2019 | Railroad operations and maintenance | 274 | 46.4 mi | |
| 1995 | Debris and open burning | 253 | 46.4 mi | |
| 1996 | Railroad operations and maintenance | 244 | 45.7 mi | |
| 2003 | Debris and open burning | 232 | 43.1 mi | |
| 2019 | Railroad operations and maintenance | 216 | 45.9 mi | |
| 2003 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 204 | 45.0 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 | 60143 | 596 |
Six Illinois cities with population within ±25% of Itasca. 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.