In 2025, fire departments serving Wauconda responded to 140 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $250K 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 63% of all calls.
Mar peaks. Jan dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
773 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2021. $3.9M cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 176 | — | |
| 2022 | 123 | -30.1% | |
| 2023 | 158 | +28.5% | |
| 2024 | 176 | +11.4% | |
| 2025 | 140 | -20.5% |
For the 16 building fires Wauconda departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 92 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 | 12 | 13.0% | |
| 2 | Cooking area, kitchen | 10 | 10.9% | |
| 3 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 10 | 10.9% | |
| 4 | Outside area, other | 9 | 9.8% | |
| 5 | Undetermined | 9 | 9.8% | |
| 6 | Chute/container - trash, rubbish, waste | 5 | 5.4% | |
| 7 | Courtyard, patio, porch, terrace | 5 | 5.4% | |
| 8 | Vehicle storage area; garage, carport | 4 | 4.3% | |
| 9 | Cargo/trunk area - all vehicles | 4 | 4.3% | |
| 10 | Bedroom - < 5 persons; included are jail or prison | 3 | 3.3% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 21 | 22.8% |
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 Wauconda mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 35 | 38.0% | |
| 2 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 10 | 10.9% | |
| 3 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 9 | 9.8% | |
| 4 | Hot ember or ash | 7 | 7.6% | |
| 5 | Flame/torch used for lighting | 4 | 4.3% | |
| 6 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 3 | 3.3% | |
| 7 | Arcing | 3 | 3.3% | |
| 8 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 3 | 3.3% | |
| 9 | Cigarette | 3 | 3.3% | |
| 10 | Match | 3 | 3.3% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 12 | 13.0% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Wauconda departments in 2025. These 5 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $250,000 | Building fires | Major | Investigated |
| 2 | $20,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $20,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 4 | $8,500 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 5 | $2,000 | Off-road vehicle or heavy equipment fire | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Wauconda sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
21 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 | 0 | |
| 10-19 | 1 | |
| 20-29 | 2 | |
| 30-39 | 3 | |
| 40-49 | 7 | |
| 50-59 | 3 | |
| 60-69 | 1 | |
| 70-79 | 3 | |
| 80+ | 1 |
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 | 19.0 mi | |
| 2003 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 450 | 17.9 mi | |
| 2010 | Natural | 200 | 41.9 mi | |
| 2010 | Natural | 180 | 41.5 mi | |
| 2010 | Equipment and vehicle use | 80 | 25.1 mi | |
| 2012 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 80 | 7.1 mi | |
| 2020 | Arson/incendiarism | 76 | 37.3 mi | |
| 2003 | Recreation and ceremony | 75 | 24.8 mi | |
| 2020 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 60 | 33.2 mi | |
| 2010 | Debris and open burning | 53 | 41.0 mi | |
| 2014 | Arson/incendiarism | 50 | 24.7 mi | |
| 2012 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 50 | 20.3 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 Wauconda. 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.