In 2025, fire departments serving Sparta responded to 82 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $75K 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 53% of all calls.
Mar peaks. Feb dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
347 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2024. $3.4M cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 51 | — | |
| 2022 | 66 | +29.4% | |
| 2023 | 65 | -1.5% | |
| 2024 | 83 | +27.7% | |
| 2025 | 82 | -1.2% |
For the 17 building fires Sparta 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 | 27 | 39.7% | |
| 2 | Other | 3 | 4.4% | |
| 3 | Common room, den, family room, living room, lounge | 3 | 4.4% | |
| 4 | Cooking area, kitchen | 3 | 4.4% | |
| 5 | Vehicle area, other | 3 | 4.4% | |
| 6 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 3 | 4.4% | |
| 7 | Outside area, other | 3 | 4.4% | |
| 8 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 3 | 4.4% | |
| 9 | Vacant structural area | 3 | 4.4% | |
| 10 | Wall surface: exterior | 2 | 2.9% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 15 | 22.1% |
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 Sparta mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 43 | 63.2% | |
| 2 | Arcing | 5 | 7.4% | |
| 3 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 4 | 5.9% | |
| 4 | Heat source: other | 3 | 4.4% | |
| 5 | Molten, hot material | 2 | 2.9% | |
| 6 | Heat from other open flame or smoking materials | 2 | 2.9% | |
| 7 | Candle | 2 | 2.9% | |
| 8 | Conducted heat from another fire | 2 | 2.9% | |
| 9 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 1 | 1.5% | |
| 10 | Explosive, fireworks, other | 1 | 1.5% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 3 | 4.4% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Sparta departments in 2025. These 3 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $75,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 2 | $10,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $7,000 | Fire in motor home, camper, recreational vehicle | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Sparta sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 2,893 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010 | Arson/incendiarism | 409 | 40.3 mi | |
| 2005 | Natural | 225 | 31.6 mi | |
| 2007 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 225 | 28.2 mi | |
| 2005 | Debris and open burning | 160 | 26.8 mi | |
| 2002 | Natural | 150 | 31.6 mi | |
| 2014 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 150 | 44.8 mi | |
| 2004 | Debris and open burning | 150 | 26.3 mi | |
| 1992 | Debris and open burning | 125 | 48.1 mi | |
| 2011 | Debris and open burning | 120 | 36.4 mi | |
| 2007 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 112 | 47.0 mi | |
| 1992 | Recreation and ceremony | 110 | 40.7 mi | |
| 1995 | Arson/incendiarism | 102 | 39.2 mi |
Top 6 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 Sparta. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
1 departments report to NFIRS for incidents in Sparta.
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.