In 2025, fire departments serving Palos Hills responded to 119 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $700K 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 78% of all calls.
Jul peaks. Nov dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
642 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2023. $3.3M cumulative property loss. 1 civilian deaths.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 141 | — | |
| 2022 | 116 | -17.7% | |
| 2023 | 152 | +31.0% | |
| 2024 | 114 | -25.0% | |
| 2025 | 119 | +4.4% |
For the 24 building fires Palos Hills departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 61 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 | 8 | 13.1% | |
| 2 | Undetermined | 8 | 13.1% | |
| 3 | Common room, den, family room, living room, lounge | 5 | 8.2% | |
| 4 | Bedroom - < 5 persons; included are jail or prison | 4 | 6.6% | |
| 5 | Cooking area, kitchen | 3 | 4.9% | |
| 6 | Exterior balcony, unenclosed porch | 3 | 4.9% | |
| 7 | Vehicle area, other | 3 | 4.9% | |
| 8 | Assembly area - less than 100 persons | 2 | 3.3% | |
| 9 | Laundry area, wash house (laundry) | 2 | 3.3% | |
| 10 | Vehicle storage area; garage, carport | 2 | 3.3% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 21 | 34.4% |
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 Palos Hills mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 30 | 49.2% | |
| 2 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 5 | 8.2% | |
| 3 | Heat source: other | 4 | 6.6% | |
| 4 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 3 | 4.9% | |
| 5 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 2 | 3.3% | |
| 6 | Arcing | 2 | 3.3% | |
| 7 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 2 | 3.3% | |
| 8 | Heat spread from another fire, other | 2 | 3.3% | |
| 9 | Heat from direct flame, convection currents | 2 | 3.3% | |
| 10 | Multiple heat sources including multiple ignitions | 2 | 3.3% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 7 | 11.5% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Palos Hills departments in 2025. These 8 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $700,000 | Building fires | Major | Investigated |
| 2 | $300,000 | Building fires | Major | Investigated |
| 3 | $250,000 | Building fires | Major | Investigated |
| 4 | $20,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 5 | $6,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 6 | $4,000 | Grass fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 7 | $1,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 8 | $500 | Cooking fire, confined to container | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Palos Hills sits below the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 6,291 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 | 48.4 mi | |
| 2003 | Natural | 600 | 33.8 mi | |
| 2003 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 450 | 48.5 mi | |
| 2002 | Railroad operations and maintenance | 396 | 28.8 mi | |
| 1993 | Railroad operations and maintenance | 341 | 28.8 mi | |
| 2012 | Railroad operations and maintenance | 291 | 28.2 mi | |
| 2019 | Railroad operations and maintenance | 274 | 29.8 mi | |
| 1995 | Debris and open burning | 253 | 28.6 mi | |
| 1996 | Railroad operations and maintenance | 244 | 28.7 mi | |
| 2003 | Debris and open burning | 232 | 29.3 mi | |
| 2019 | Railroad operations and maintenance | 216 | 28.9 mi | |
| 2003 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 204 | 27.8 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 Palos Hills. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
1 departments report to NFIRS for incidents in Palos Hills.
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.