In 2025, fire departments serving Sarcoxie responded to 16 fire and hazmat incidents . Here's the full picture.
Building fires lead by count. Building fires lead by dollars. Together the top five categories make up about 81% of all calls.
Aug peaks. Mar dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
99 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2023. $22K cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021* | 5 | — | |
| 2022* | 5 | — | |
| 2023 | 49 | — | |
| 2024 | 24 | -51.0% | |
| 2025 | 16 | -33.3% |
* Well below Sarcoxie's usual volume. That almost always means one or more departments didn't submit a full year to NFIRS, not that fires dropped, so no year-over-year change is shown for it.
For the 8 building fires Sarcoxie departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 68 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 | 21 | 30.9% | |
| 2 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 11 | 16.2% | |
| 3 | Outside area, other | 5 | 7.4% | |
| 4 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 4 | 5.9% | |
| 5 | Other | 3 | 4.4% | |
| 6 | Vehicle area, other | 3 | 4.4% | |
| 7 | Wildland, woods | 3 | 4.4% | |
| 8 | Storage area, other | 2 | 2.9% | |
| 9 | Closet | 2 | 2.9% | |
| 10 | Wall surface: exterior | 2 | 2.9% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 12 | 17.6% |
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 Sarcoxie mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 38 | 55.9% | |
| 2 | Heat source: other | 7 | 10.3% | |
| 3 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 3 | 4.4% | |
| 4 | Hot ember or ash | 3 | 4.4% | |
| 5 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 2 | 2.9% | |
| 6 | Arcing | 2 | 2.9% | |
| 7 | Lightning | 2 | 2.9% | |
| 8 | Flying brand, ember, spark | 2 | 2.9% | |
| 9 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 1 | 1.5% | |
| 10 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 1 | 1.5% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 7 | 10.3% |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Sarcoxie sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 17,589 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 | 41.5 mi | |
| 2019 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 1,732 | 38.0 mi | |
| 2001 | Debris and open burning | 1,300 | 38.8 mi | |
| 1999 | Arson/incendiarism | 903 | 29.9 mi | |
| 2013 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 876 | 31.3 mi | |
| 2012 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 772 | 47.5 mi | |
| 1996 | Arson/incendiarism | 706 | 42.0 mi | |
| 2006 | Arson/incendiarism | 602 | 29.7 mi | |
| 2014 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 600 | 28.0 mi | |
| 1992 | Arson/incendiarism | 595 | 29.9 mi | |
| 2012 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 590 | 37.9 mi | |
| 2011 | Equipment and vehicle use | 580 | 39.3 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 Missouri cities with population within ±25% of Sarcoxie. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
2 departments report to NFIRS for incidents in Sarcoxie.
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.