In 2025, fire departments serving Lake in the Hills responded to 135 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $300K 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 64% of all calls.
Mar peaks. Oct dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
667 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2021. $2.1M cumulative property loss. 1 civilian deaths.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 159 | — | |
| 2022 | 145 | -8.8% | |
| 2023 | 113 | -22.1% | |
| 2024 | 115 | +1.8% | |
| 2025 | 135 | +17.4% |
For the 18 building fires Lake in the Hills departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 107 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 | 22 | 20.6% | |
| 2 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 16 | 15.0% | |
| 3 | Vehicle storage area; garage, carport | 11 | 10.3% | |
| 4 | Outside area, other | 11 | 10.3% | |
| 5 | Wall surface: exterior | 6 | 5.6% | |
| 6 | Courtyard, patio, porch, terrace | 5 | 4.7% | |
| 7 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 5 | 4.7% | |
| 8 | Cooking area, kitchen | 4 | 3.7% | |
| 9 | Exterior balcony, unenclosed porch | 4 | 3.7% | |
| 10 | Chute/container - trash, rubbish, waste | 3 | 2.8% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 20 | 18.7% |
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 Lake in the Hills mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 65 | 60.7% | |
| 2 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 6 | 5.6% | |
| 3 | Hot ember or ash | 5 | 4.7% | |
| 4 | Arcing | 4 | 3.7% | |
| 5 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 4 | 3.7% | |
| 6 | Heat from other open flame or smoking materials | 3 | 2.8% | |
| 7 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 2 | 1.9% | |
| 8 | Heat, spark from friction | 2 | 1.9% | |
| 9 | Cigarette | 2 | 1.9% | |
| 10 | Heat from undetermined smoking material | 2 | 1.9% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 12 | 11.2% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Lake in the Hills departments in 2025. These 8 fires alone account for 98% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $300,000 | Building fires | Major | Investigated |
| 2 | $200,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $75,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 4 | $50,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 5 | $50,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 6 | $25,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 7 | $20,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 8 | $5,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Lake in the Hills sits below the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 2,646 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 | 31.3 mi | |
| 2003 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 450 | 30.1 mi | |
| 2010 | Natural | 200 | 48.9 mi | |
| 2010 | Natural | 180 | 48.5 mi | |
| 2010 | Debris and open burning | 100 | 45.0 mi | |
| 2010 | Equipment and vehicle use | 80 | 32.0 mi | |
| 2012 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 80 | 13.2 mi | |
| 2020 | Arson/incendiarism | 76 | 43.0 mi | |
| 2003 | Recreation and ceremony | 75 | 13.3 mi | |
| 2010 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 70 | 44.4 mi | |
| 2020 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 60 | 35.3 mi | |
| 2010 | Debris and open burning | 53 | 43.9 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 Lake in the Hills. 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.