In 2025, fire departments serving Lake Zurich responded to 164 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 64% of all calls.
May peaks. Jan dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
830 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2024. $2.6M cumulative property loss. 1 civilian deaths.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 177 | — | |
| 2022 | 147 | -16.9% | |
| 2023 | 161 | +9.5% | |
| 2024 | 181 | +12.4% | |
| 2025 | 164 | -9.4% |
For the 28 building fires Lake Zurich departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 97 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 | 15 | 15.5% | |
| 2 | Undetermined | 14 | 14.4% | |
| 3 | Cooking area, kitchen | 11 | 11.3% | |
| 4 | Outside area, other | 9 | 9.3% | |
| 5 | Wall assembly | 5 | 5.2% | |
| 6 | Other | 4 | 4.1% | |
| 7 | Chute/container - trash, rubbish, waste | 3 | 3.1% | |
| 8 | Vehicle storage area; garage, carport | 3 | 3.1% | |
| 9 | Wall surface: exterior | 3 | 3.1% | |
| 10 | Cargo/trunk area - all vehicles | 3 | 3.1% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 27 | 27.8% |
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 Lake Zurich mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 34 | 35.1% | |
| 2 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 13 | 13.4% | |
| 3 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 13 | 13.4% | |
| 4 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 6 | 6.2% | |
| 5 | Arcing | 6 | 6.2% | |
| 6 | Heat source: other | 5 | 5.2% | |
| 7 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 3 | 3.1% | |
| 8 | Cigarette | 3 | 3.1% | |
| 9 | Heat from direct flame, convection currents | 2 | 2.1% | |
| 10 | Radiated heat from another fire | 2 | 2.1% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 10 | 10.3% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Lake Zurich departments in 2025. These 8 fires alone account for 99% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $400,000 | Building fires | Major | Investigated |
| 2 | $100,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $50,000 | Electrical wiring/equipment problem, other | Significant | Investigated |
| 4 | $12,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 5 | $10,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 6 | $5,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 7 | $5,000 | Off-road vehicle or heavy equipment fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 8 | $5,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Lake Zurich sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
18 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 | 4 | |
| 30-39 | 3 | |
| 40-49 | 4 | |
| 50-59 | 3 | |
| 60-69 | 0 | |
| 70-79 | 2 | |
| 80+ | 0 |
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 2,520 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 | 20.1 mi | |
| 2003 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 450 | 19.3 mi | |
| 2010 | Natural | 200 | 47.4 mi | |
| 2010 | Natural | 180 | 47.0 mi | |
| 2010 | Equipment and vehicle use | 80 | 30.8 mi | |
| 2012 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 80 | 13.0 mi | |
| 2020 | Arson/incendiarism | 76 | 43.2 mi | |
| 2003 | Recreation and ceremony | 75 | 23.6 mi | |
| 2020 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 60 | 39.2 mi | |
| 2010 | Debris and open burning | 53 | 47.1 mi | |
| 2014 | Arson/incendiarism | 50 | 21.2 mi | |
| 2012 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 50 | 22.5 mi |
Top 5 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 Zurich. 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.