In 2025, fire departments serving Northfield responded to 65 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $1 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.
Jul peaks. Nov dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
277 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2023. $154K cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 46 | — | |
| 2022 | 48 | +4.3% | |
| 2023 | 67 | +39.6% | |
| 2024 | 51 | -23.9% | |
| 2025 | 65 | +27.5% |
For the 4 building fires Northfield departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 28 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 | Outside area, other | 10 | 35.7% | |
| 2 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 4 | 14.3% | |
| 3 | Undetermined | 3 | 10.7% | |
| 4 | Cooking area, kitchen | 2 | 7.1% | |
| 5 | Vehicle area, other | 2 | 7.1% | |
| 6 | Operator/passenger area of transportation equip. | 2 | 7.1% | |
| 7 | Other | 1 | 3.6% | |
| 8 | Substructure area or space, crawl space | 1 | 3.6% | |
| 9 | Exterior balcony, unenclosed porch | 1 | 3.6% | |
| 10 | Cargo/trunk area - all vehicles | 1 | 3.6% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 1 | 3.6% |
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 Northfield mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 11 | 39.3% | |
| 2 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 5 | 17.9% | |
| 3 | Heat source: other | 2 | 7.1% | |
| 4 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 2 | 7.1% | |
| 5 | Arcing | 2 | 7.1% | |
| 6 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 2 | 7.1% | |
| 7 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 1 | 3.6% | |
| 8 | Heat, spark from friction | 1 | 3.6% | |
| 9 | Hot ember or ash | 1 | 3.6% | |
| 10 | Chemical, natural heat source, other | 1 | 3.6% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Northfield departments in 2025. These 2 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $1 | Outside equipment fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 2 | $1 | Outside rubbish fire, other | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Northfield sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 5,618 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 | 20.5 mi | |
| 2003 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 450 | 20.7 mi | |
| 2002 | Railroad operations and maintenance | 396 | 42.8 mi | |
| 1993 | Railroad operations and maintenance | 341 | 42.7 mi | |
| 2012 | Railroad operations and maintenance | 291 | 42.4 mi | |
| 2019 | Railroad operations and maintenance | 274 | 43.0 mi | |
| 1995 | Debris and open burning | 253 | 44.1 mi | |
| 1996 | Railroad operations and maintenance | 244 | 42.7 mi | |
| 2019 | Railroad operations and maintenance | 216 | 42.9 mi | |
| 2003 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 204 | 42.3 mi | |
| 1994 | Railroad operations and maintenance | 191 | 42.7 mi | |
| 1994 | Railroad operations and maintenance | 190 | 41.9 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 Northfield. 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.