In 2025, fire departments serving Peoria Heights responded to 43 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $200K 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 61% of all calls.
Sep peaks. Feb dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
329 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2023. $1.1M cumulative property loss. 1 civilian deaths.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 63 | — | |
| 2022 | 73 | +15.9% | |
| 2023 | 80 | +9.6% | |
| 2024 | 70 | -12.5% | |
| 2025 | 43 | -38.6% |
For the 2 building fires Peoria Heights departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 69 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 | 14 | 20.3% | |
| 2 | Cooking area, kitchen | 13 | 18.8% | |
| 3 | Outside area, other | 8 | 11.6% | |
| 4 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 6 | 8.7% | |
| 5 | Other | 4 | 5.8% | |
| 6 | Wall surface: exterior | 3 | 4.3% | |
| 7 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 3 | 4.3% | |
| 8 | Bedroom - < 5 persons; included are jail or prison | 2 | 2.9% | |
| 9 | Storage room, area, tank, or bin | 2 | 2.9% | |
| 10 | Attic: vacant, crawl space above top story, cupola | 2 | 2.9% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 12 | 17.4% |
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 Peoria Heights mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 22 | 31.9% | |
| 2 | Arcing | 6 | 8.7% | |
| 3 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 4 | 5.8% | |
| 4 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 4 | 5.8% | |
| 5 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 4 | 5.8% | |
| 6 | Hot ember or ash | 4 | 5.8% | |
| 7 | Cigarette | 4 | 5.8% | |
| 8 | Radiated heat from another fire | 4 | 5.8% | |
| 9 | Heat source: other | 3 | 4.3% | |
| 10 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 3 | 4.3% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 11 | 15.9% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Peoria Heights departments in 2025. These 4 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $200,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 2 | $1,000 | Cooking fire, confined to container | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $800 | Fire, other | Significant | Investigated |
| 4 | $150 | Cooking fire, confined to container | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Peoria Heights sits below the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 1,929 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2012 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 375 | 29.4 mi | |
| 1999 | Debris and open burning | 250 | 40.5 mi | |
| 2018 | Debris and open burning | 200 | 13.3 mi | |
| 2014 | Debris and open burning | 200 | 45.3 mi | |
| 2020 | Debris and open burning | 110 | 41.4 mi | |
| 2018 | Equipment and vehicle use | 80 | 43.3 mi | |
| 2014 | Debris and open burning | 60 | 25.2 mi | |
| 2010 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 60 | 37.0 mi | |
| 2014 | Debris and open burning | 51 | 26.8 mi | |
| 2014 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 50 | 40.6 mi | |
| 2010 | Debris and open burning | 50 | 42.3 mi | |
| 2018 | Debris and open burning | 45 | 27.0 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 Peoria Heights. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
1 departments report to NFIRS for incidents in Peoria Heights.
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.