In 2025, fire departments serving Kildeer responded to 72 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $185K building blaze. Here's the full picture.
Building fires lead by count. Building fires lead by dollars. Together the top five categories make up about 86% of all calls.
Mar peaks. Feb dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
274 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2022. $3.5M cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 44 | — | |
| 2022 | 74 | +68.2% | |
| 2023 | 50 | -32.4% | |
| 2024 | 34 | -32.0% | |
| 2025 | 72 | +111.8% |
For the 40 building fires Kildeer departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 30 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 | 9 | 30.0% | |
| 2 | Undetermined | 4 | 13.3% | |
| 3 | Outside area, other | 3 | 10.0% | |
| 4 | Cooking area, kitchen | 2 | 6.7% | |
| 5 | Wall surface: exterior | 2 | 6.7% | |
| 6 | Other | 1 | 3.3% | |
| 7 | Exterior stairway, ramp, or fire escape | 1 | 3.3% | |
| 8 | Entrance way, lobby | 1 | 3.3% | |
| 9 | Egress/exit, other | 1 | 3.3% | |
| 10 | Common room, den, family room, living room, lounge | 1 | 3.3% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 5 | 16.7% |
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 Kildeer mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 17 | 56.7% | |
| 2 | Arcing | 2 | 6.7% | |
| 3 | Hot ember or ash | 2 | 6.7% | |
| 4 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 1 | 3.3% | |
| 5 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 1 | 3.3% | |
| 6 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 1 | 3.3% | |
| 7 | Heat, spark from friction | 1 | 3.3% | |
| 8 | Fireworks | 1 | 3.3% | |
| 9 | Chemical, natural heat source, other | 1 | 3.3% | |
| 10 | Heat from direct flame, convection currents | 1 | 3.3% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 2 | 6.7% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Kildeer departments in 2025. These 3 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $185,000 | Off-road vehicle or heavy equipment fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 2 | $30,000 | Road freight or transport vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $30,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Kildeer sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
5 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 | 0 | |
| 10-19 | 0 | |
| 20-29 | 1 | |
| 30-39 | 2 | |
| 40-49 | 1 | |
| 50-59 | 1 | |
| 60-69 | 0 | |
| 70-79 | 0 | |
| 80+ | 0 |
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 2,515 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 | 19.5 mi | |
| 2003 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 450 | 18.7 mi | |
| 2010 | Natural | 200 | 48.4 mi | |
| 2010 | Natural | 180 | 48.0 mi | |
| 2010 | Equipment and vehicle use | 80 | 32.0 mi | |
| 2012 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 80 | 14.8 mi | |
| 2020 | Arson/incendiarism | 76 | 44.4 mi | |
| 2003 | Recreation and ceremony | 75 | 25.0 mi | |
| 2020 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 60 | 40.9 mi | |
| 2010 | Debris and open burning | 53 | 48.6 mi | |
| 2014 | Arson/incendiarism | 50 | 21.8 mi | |
| 2012 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 50 | 22.1 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 Kildeer. 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.