In 2025, fire departments serving Prospect Heights responded to 82 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $200K building blaze. Here's the full picture.
Building fires lead by count. Building fires lead by dollars. Together the top five categories make up about 80% of all calls.
Aug peaks. Feb dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
486 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2021. $1.3M cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 122 | — | |
| 2022 | 112 | -8.2% | |
| 2023 | 95 | -15.2% | |
| 2024 | 75 | -21.1% | |
| 2025 | 82 | +9.3% |
For the 25 building fires Prospect Heights departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 45 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 | 6 | 13.3% | |
| 2 | Cooking area, kitchen | 4 | 8.9% | |
| 3 | Vehicle area, other | 4 | 8.9% | |
| 4 | Highway, parking lot, street: on or near | 4 | 8.9% | |
| 5 | Outside area, other | 3 | 6.7% | |
| 6 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 3 | 6.7% | |
| 7 | Exterior balcony, unenclosed porch | 2 | 4.4% | |
| 8 | Wall surface: exterior | 2 | 4.4% | |
| 9 | Courtyard, patio, porch, terrace | 2 | 4.4% | |
| 10 | Undetermined | 2 | 4.4% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 13 | 28.9% |
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 Prospect Heights mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 14 | 31.1% | |
| 2 | Arcing | 6 | 13.3% | |
| 3 | Hot ember or ash | 5 | 11.1% | |
| 4 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 3 | 6.7% | |
| 5 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 3 | 6.7% | |
| 6 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 2 | 4.4% | |
| 7 | Heat from other open flame or smoking materials | 2 | 4.4% | |
| 8 | Flame/torch used for lighting | 2 | 4.4% | |
| 9 | Heat source: other | 1 | 2.2% | |
| 10 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 1 | 2.2% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 6 | 13.3% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Prospect Heights departments in 2025. These 8 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $200,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 2 | $30,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $15,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 4 | $10,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 5 | $8,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 6 | $2,500 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 7 | $1,000 | Dumpster or other outside trash receptacle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 8 | $200 | Trash or rubbish fire, contained | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Prospect Heights sits below 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 | 21.3 mi | |
| 2003 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 450 | 21.0 mi | |
| 2002 | Railroad operations and maintenance | 396 | 47.8 mi | |
| 1993 | Railroad operations and maintenance | 341 | 47.7 mi | |
| 2012 | Railroad operations and maintenance | 291 | 47.4 mi | |
| 2019 | Railroad operations and maintenance | 274 | 48.1 mi | |
| 1995 | Debris and open burning | 253 | 48.8 mi | |
| 1996 | Railroad operations and maintenance | 244 | 47.7 mi | |
| 2019 | Railroad operations and maintenance | 216 | 47.9 mi | |
| 2003 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 204 | 47.2 mi | |
| 1994 | Railroad operations and maintenance | 191 | 47.8 mi | |
| 1994 | Railroad operations and maintenance | 190 | 46.7 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 Prospect Heights. 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.