In 2025, fire departments serving Riverwoods responded to 42 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $5K building blaze. Here's the full picture.
Power line down lead by count. Building fires lead by dollars. Together the top five categories make up about 67% of all calls.
Aug peaks. Feb dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
202 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2024. $69K cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 41 | — | |
| 2022 | 26 | -36.6% | |
| 2023 | 39 | +50.0% | |
| 2024 | 54 | +38.5% | |
| 2025 | 42 | -22.2% |
For the 2 building fires Riverwoods departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 14 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 | 5 | 35.7% | |
| 2 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 3 | 21.4% | |
| 3 | Chute/container - trash, rubbish, waste | 2 | 14.3% | |
| 4 | Cooking area, kitchen | 1 | 7.1% | |
| 5 | Equipment or service area, other | 1 | 7.1% | |
| 6 | Wall assembly | 1 | 7.1% | |
| 7 | Wildland, woods | 1 | 7.1% |
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 Riverwoods mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 4 | 28.6% | |
| 2 | Heat source: other | 2 | 14.3% | |
| 3 | Flame/torch used for lighting | 2 | 14.3% | |
| 4 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 1 | 7.1% | |
| 5 | Arcing | 1 | 7.1% | |
| 6 | Heat from other open flame or smoking materials | 1 | 7.1% | |
| 7 | Match | 1 | 7.1% | |
| 8 | Chemical reaction | 1 | 7.1% | |
| 9 | Flying brand, ember, spark | 1 | 7.1% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Riverwoods departments in 2025. These 3 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $5,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 2 | $3,500 | Outside equipment fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $500 | Outside equipment fire | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Riverwoods sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 3,614 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 | 16.3 mi | |
| 2003 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 450 | 16.1 mi | |
| 2012 | Railroad operations and maintenance | 291 | 49.9 mi | |
| 2003 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 204 | 49.7 mi | |
| 1994 | Railroad operations and maintenance | 190 | 49.3 mi | |
| 2003 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 187 | 49.8 mi | |
| 2001 | Railroad operations and maintenance | 170 | 49.6 mi | |
| 2011 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 160 | 46.3 mi | |
| 2015 | Railroad operations and maintenance | 124 | 49.8 mi | |
| 2005 | Natural | 111 | 49.9 mi | |
| 2000 | Railroad operations and maintenance | 94 | 49.6 mi | |
| 2010 | Equipment and vehicle use | 80 | 35.1 mi |
Top 1 ZIP codes by NFIRS incident count across 2021–2025. Each ZIP has its own fire profile — dive in for neighborhood-level context.
| # | ZIP | 5-yr incidents | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 60015 | 202 |
Six Illinois cities with population within ±25% of Riverwoods. 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.