In 2025, fire departments serving Cottleville responded to 27 fire and hazmat incidents . 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 67% of all calls.
Aug peaks. Feb dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
162 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2022. $119K cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 27 | — | |
| 2022 | 39 | +44.4% | |
| 2023 | 34 | -12.8% | |
| 2024 | 35 | +2.9% | |
| 2025 | 27 | -22.9% |
For the 0 building fires Cottleville departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 42 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 | Highway, parking lot, street: on or near | 6 | 14.3% | |
| 2 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 6 | 14.3% | |
| 3 | Cooking area, kitchen | 5 | 11.9% | |
| 4 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 5 | 11.9% | |
| 5 | Chute/container - trash, rubbish, waste | 4 | 9.5% | |
| 6 | Exterior balcony, unenclosed porch | 2 | 4.8% | |
| 7 | Exterior, exposed surface | 2 | 4.8% | |
| 8 | Courtyard, patio, porch, terrace | 2 | 4.8% | |
| 9 | Wildland, woods | 2 | 4.8% | |
| 10 | Storage: supplies or tools; dead storage | 1 | 2.4% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 7 | 16.7% |
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 Cottleville mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 23 | 54.8% | |
| 2 | Hot ember or ash | 5 | 11.9% | |
| 3 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 3 | 7.1% | |
| 4 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 2 | 4.8% | |
| 5 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 2 | 4.8% | |
| 6 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 1 | 2.4% | |
| 7 | Incendiary device | 1 | 2.4% | |
| 8 | Heat from other open flame or smoking materials | 1 | 2.4% | |
| 9 | Cigarette lighter | 1 | 2.4% | |
| 10 | Flame/torch used for lighting | 1 | 2.4% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 2 | 4.8% |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Cottleville sits below the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 6,144 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 | 19.5 mi | |
| 1992 | Debris and open burning | 1,050 | 43.8 mi | |
| 2018 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 685 | 48.3 mi | |
| 1999 | Debris and open burning | 360 | 35.3 mi | |
| 2006 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 300 | 48.1 mi | |
| 1997 | Debris and open burning | 270 | 43.5 mi | |
| 2005 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 265 | 33.0 mi | |
| 2005 | Natural | 225 | 44.5 mi | |
| 2018 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 185 | 40.8 mi | |
| 2002 | Natural | 150 | 44.8 mi | |
| 1995 | Debris and open burning | 130 | 45.9 mi | |
| 2016 | Debris and open burning | 112 | 43.9 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 Missouri cities with population within ±25% of Cottleville. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
1 departments report to NFIRS for incidents in Cottleville.
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.