In 2025, fire departments serving Winnetka responded to 118 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 84% of all calls.
Jan peaks. Feb dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
547 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2024. $743K cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 123 | — | |
| 2022 | 82 | -33.3% | |
| 2023 | 93 | +13.4% | |
| 2024 | 131 | +40.9% | |
| 2025 | 118 | -9.9% |
For the 17 building fires Winnetka departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 37 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 | Cooking area, kitchen | 5 | 13.5% | |
| 2 | Undetermined | 5 | 13.5% | |
| 3 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 4 | 10.8% | |
| 4 | Wall assembly | 3 | 8.1% | |
| 5 | Closet | 2 | 5.4% | |
| 6 | Vehicle storage area; garage, carport | 2 | 5.4% | |
| 7 | Roof surface: exterior | 2 | 5.4% | |
| 8 | Outside area, other | 2 | 5.4% | |
| 9 | Courtyard, patio, porch, terrace | 2 | 5.4% | |
| 10 | Exterior stairway, ramp, or fire escape | 1 | 2.7% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 9 | 24.3% |
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 Winnetka mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 15 | 40.5% | |
| 2 | Arcing | 7 | 18.9% | |
| 3 | Hot ember or ash | 3 | 8.1% | |
| 4 | Lightning | 2 | 5.4% | |
| 5 | Heat source: other | 1 | 2.7% | |
| 6 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 1 | 2.7% | |
| 7 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 1 | 2.7% | |
| 8 | Heat, spark from friction | 1 | 2.7% | |
| 9 | Heat from other open flame or smoking materials | 1 | 2.7% | |
| 10 | Cigarette | 1 | 2.7% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 4 | 10.8% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Winnetka departments in 2025. These 7 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $250,000 | Building fires | Major | Investigated |
| 2 | $100,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $50,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 4 | $6,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 5 | $1,000 | Outside rubbish fire, other | Significant | Investigated |
| 6 | $150 | Outside rubbish, trash or waste fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 7 | $1 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Winnetka sits above 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 | 20.5 mi | |
| 2003 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 450 | 20.8 mi | |
| 2002 | Railroad operations and maintenance | 396 | 41.9 mi | |
| 1993 | Railroad operations and maintenance | 341 | 41.8 mi | |
| 2012 | Railroad operations and maintenance | 291 | 41.6 mi | |
| 2019 | Railroad operations and maintenance | 274 | 42.0 mi | |
| 1995 | Debris and open burning | 253 | 43.3 mi | |
| 1996 | Railroad operations and maintenance | 244 | 41.8 mi | |
| 2019 | Railroad operations and maintenance | 216 | 42.0 mi | |
| 2003 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 204 | 41.5 mi | |
| 1994 | Railroad operations and maintenance | 191 | 41.8 mi | |
| 1994 | Railroad operations and maintenance | 190 | 41.1 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 Winnetka. 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.