In 2025, fire departments serving Round Lake Heights responded to 13 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $20K 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 100% of all calls.
Feb peaks. Jan dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
72 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2021. $126K cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 21 | — | |
| 2022 | 14 | -33.3% | |
| 2023 | 9 | -35.7% | |
| 2024 | 15 | +66.7% | |
| 2025 | 13 | -13.3% |
For the 9 building fires Round Lake Heights departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 9 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 | 3 | 33.3% | |
| 2 | Laundry area, wash house (laundry) | 2 | 22.2% | |
| 3 | Storage area, other | 1 | 11.1% | |
| 4 | Exterior balcony, unenclosed porch | 1 | 11.1% | |
| 5 | Wall surface: exterior | 1 | 11.1% | |
| 6 | Operator/passenger area of transportation equip. | 1 | 11.1% |
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 Round Lake Heights mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 2 | 22.2% | |
| 2 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 2 | 22.2% | |
| 3 | Arcing | 1 | 11.1% | |
| 4 | Hot ember or ash | 1 | 11.1% | |
| 5 | Fireworks | 1 | 11.1% | |
| 6 | Heat from direct flame, convection currents | 1 | 11.1% | |
| 7 | Undetermined | 1 | 11.1% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Round Lake Heights departments in 2025. These 2 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $20,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 2 | $5,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Round Lake Heights sits below the national average for incidents per resident.
37 fire-related casualties recorded in NFIRS Module 11 across the 2021–2025 window. Age, gender, and severity are coarse-binned — no individual identification possible.
| Age | Count | |
|---|---|---|
| 0-9 | 1 | |
| 10-19 | 0 | |
| 20-29 | 12 | |
| 30-39 | 9 | |
| 40-49 | 9 | |
| 50-59 | 5 | |
| 60-69 | 1 | |
| 70-79 | 0 | |
| 80+ | 0 |
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 2,537 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 | 15.3 mi | |
| 2003 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 450 | 14.0 mi | |
| 2010 | Natural | 200 | 34.3 mi | |
| 2010 | Natural | 180 | 33.9 mi | |
| 2010 | Equipment and vehicle use | 80 | 17.7 mi | |
| 2012 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 80 | 6.2 mi | |
| 2020 | Arson/incendiarism | 76 | 30.2 mi | |
| 2003 | Recreation and ceremony | 75 | 31.5 mi | |
| 2020 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 60 | 27.7 mi | |
| 2010 | Debris and open burning | 53 | 34.9 mi | |
| 2014 | Arson/incendiarism | 50 | 32.3 mi | |
| 2012 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 50 | 15.2 mi |
Top 2 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 Round Lake 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.