In 2025, fire departments serving Washington Park responded to 169 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $90K building blaze. Here's the full picture.
Fire, other lead by count. Building fires lead by dollars. Together the top five categories make up about 86% of all calls.
Sep peaks. Mar dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
958 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2023. $6.2M cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 131 | — | |
| 2022 | 225 | +71.8% | |
| 2023 | 250 | +11.1% | |
| 2024 | 183 | -26.8% | |
| 2025 | 169 | -7.7% |
For the 42 building fires Washington Park departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 345 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 | 205 | 59.4% | |
| 2 | Vacant structural area | 38 | 11.0% | |
| 3 | Vehicle area, other | 18 | 5.2% | |
| 4 | Cooking area, kitchen | 14 | 4.1% | |
| 5 | Common room, den, family room, living room, lounge | 13 | 3.8% | |
| 6 | Outside area, other | 12 | 3.5% | |
| 7 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 6 | 1.7% | |
| 8 | Bedroom - < 5 persons; included are jail or prison | 5 | 1.4% | |
| 9 | Attic: vacant, crawl space above top story, cupola | 4 | 1.2% | |
| 10 | Entrance way, lobby | 3 | 0.9% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 27 | 7.8% |
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 Washington Park mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 316 | 91.6% | |
| 2 | Heat source: other | 11 | 3.2% | |
| 3 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 10 | 2.9% | |
| 4 | Heat from other open flame or smoking materials | 4 | 1.2% | |
| 5 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 2 | 0.6% | |
| 6 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 1 | 0.3% | |
| 7 | Lightning | 1 | 0.3% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Washington Park departments in 2025. These 8 fires alone account for 56% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $90,000 | Fire, other | Significant | Investigated |
| 2 | $85,000 | Fire, other | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $80,000 | Fire, other | Significant | Investigated |
| 4 | $56,202 | Fire, other | Significant | Investigated |
| 5 | $54,000 | Fire, other | Significant | Investigated |
| 6 | $50,000 | Fire, other | Significant | Investigated |
| 7 | $50,000 | Fire, other | Significant | Investigated |
| 8 | $50,000 | Road freight or transport vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Washington Park sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 3,266 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2011 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 1,475 | 33.4 mi | |
| 1997 | Debris and open burning | 270 | 46.9 mi | |
| 2005 | Natural | 225 | 33.5 mi | |
| 2002 | Natural | 150 | 33.9 mi | |
| 2014 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 150 | 48.0 mi | |
| 2008 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 80 | 20.9 mi | |
| 2013 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 80 | 47.4 mi | |
| 2007 | Equipment and vehicle use | 80 | 29.3 mi | |
| 2008 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 75 | 40.6 mi | |
| 2020 | Debris and open burning | 60 | 31.6 mi | |
| 2009 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 60 | 48.9 mi | |
| 2004 | Recreation and ceremony | 56 | 42.9 mi |
Top 10 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 Washington Park. 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.