In 2025, fire departments serving Neosho responded to 247 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $200K 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 60% of all calls.
Mar peaks. Sep dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
1,112 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2025. $5.2M cumulative property loss. 1 civilian deaths.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 227 | — | |
| 2022 | 209 | -7.9% | |
| 2023 | 185 | -11.5% | |
| 2024 | 244 | +31.9% | |
| 2025 | 247 | +1.2% |
For the 46 building fires Neosho departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 348 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 | Outside area, other | 54 | 15.5% | |
| 2 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 49 | 14.1% | |
| 3 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 47 | 13.5% | |
| 4 | Undetermined | 43 | 12.4% | |
| 5 | Cooking area, kitchen | 14 | 4.0% | |
| 6 | Common room, den, family room, living room, lounge | 11 | 3.2% | |
| 7 | Other | 9 | 2.6% | |
| 8 | Wall surface: exterior | 9 | 2.6% | |
| 9 | Cargo/trunk area - all vehicles | 9 | 2.6% | |
| 10 | Vehicle area, other | 8 | 2.3% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 95 | 27.3% |
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 Neosho mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 148 | 42.5% | |
| 2 | Hot ember or ash | 39 | 11.2% | |
| 3 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 19 | 5.5% | |
| 4 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 18 | 5.2% | |
| 5 | Arcing | 16 | 4.6% | |
| 6 | Heat source: other | 14 | 4.0% | |
| 7 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 13 | 3.7% | |
| 8 | Heat spread from another fire, other | 9 | 2.6% | |
| 9 | Flying brand, ember, spark | 9 | 2.6% | |
| 10 | Conducted heat from another fire | 9 | 2.6% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 54 | 15.5% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Neosho departments in 2025. These 8 fires alone account for 80% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $200,000 | Outside equipment fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 2 | $150,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $100,000 | Fire, other | Significant | Investigated |
| 4 | $100,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 5 | $100,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 6 | $70,000 | Off-road vehicle or heavy equipment fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 7 | $50,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 8 | $40,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Neosho sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 22,122 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2005 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 2,580 | 21.4 mi | |
| 2001 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 1,500 | 47.5 mi | |
| 2001 | Debris and open burning | 1,300 | 18.9 mi | |
| 1994 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 1,010 | 46.1 mi | |
| 1994 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 1,000 | 47.5 mi | |
| 2011 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 994 | 39.6 mi | |
| 1999 | Arson/incendiarism | 903 | 15.3 mi | |
| 2013 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 876 | 16.2 mi | |
| 2011 | Arson/incendiarism | 875 | 39.2 mi | |
| 2001 | Arson/incendiarism | 850 | 43.3 mi | |
| 2000 | Arson/incendiarism | 800 | 37.4 mi | |
| 2003 | Arson/incendiarism | 800 | 47.6 mi |
Top 8 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 Neosho. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
3 departments report to NFIRS for incidents in Neosho.
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.