In 2025, fire departments serving North Aurora responded to 153 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $500K 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 58% of all calls.
Jun peaks. Feb dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
596 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2025. $2.2M cumulative property loss. 1 civilian deaths.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 130 | — | |
| 2022 | 93 | -28.5% | |
| 2023 | 122 | +31.2% | |
| 2024 | 98 | -19.7% | |
| 2025 | 153 | +56.1% |
For the 16 building fires North Aurora departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 104 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 | 24 | 23.1% | |
| 2 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 15 | 14.4% | |
| 3 | Other | 9 | 8.7% | |
| 4 | Outside area, other | 8 | 7.7% | |
| 5 | Cooking area, kitchen | 7 | 6.7% | |
| 6 | Vehicle storage area; garage, carport | 6 | 5.8% | |
| 7 | Vehicle area, other | 4 | 3.8% | |
| 8 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 4 | 3.8% | |
| 9 | Office | 2 | 1.9% | |
| 10 | Chute/container - trash, rubbish, waste | 2 | 1.9% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 23 | 22.1% |
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 North Aurora mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 54 | 51.9% | |
| 2 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 13 | 12.5% | |
| 3 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 10 | 9.6% | |
| 4 | Hot ember or ash | 6 | 5.8% | |
| 5 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 5 | 4.8% | |
| 6 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 4 | 3.8% | |
| 7 | Heat source: other | 2 | 1.9% | |
| 8 | Arcing | 2 | 1.9% | |
| 9 | Heat from other open flame or smoking materials | 2 | 1.9% | |
| 10 | Candle | 2 | 1.9% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 4 | 3.8% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by North Aurora departments in 2025. These 8 fires alone account for 98% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $500,000 | Building fires | Major | Investigated |
| 2 | $275,000 | Building fires | Major | Investigated |
| 3 | $150,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 4 | $30,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 5 | $25,000 | Dumpster or other outside trash receptacle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 6 | $15,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 7 | $15,000 | Mobile property (vehicle) fire, other | Significant | Investigated |
| 8 | $10,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. North Aurora sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 3,603 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 | 49.2 mi | |
| 2003 | Natural | 600 | 32.6 mi | |
| 2003 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 450 | 48.5 mi | |
| 2003 | Debris and open burning | 232 | 31.9 mi | |
| 2012 | Debris and open burning | 210 | 46.7 mi | |
| 2011 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 160 | 49.3 mi | |
| 2009 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 150 | 40.0 mi | |
| 2010 | Debris and open burning | 100 | 45.4 mi | |
| 2009 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 100 | 41.0 mi | |
| 2012 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 80 | 38.4 mi | |
| 2003 | Recreation and ceremony | 75 | 17.1 mi | |
| 2010 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 70 | 44.5 mi |
Top 3 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 North Aurora. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
1 departments report to NFIRS for incidents in North Aurora.
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.