In 2025, fire departments serving Star City responded to 91 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $350K 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 64% of all calls.
Feb peaks. May dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
329 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2025. $1.6M cumulative property loss. 1 civilian deaths.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 54 | — | |
| 2022 | 66 | +22.2% | |
| 2023 | 47 | -28.8% | |
| 2024 | 71 | +51.1% | |
| 2025 | 91 | +28.2% |
For the 16 building fires Star City departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 219 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 | 93 | 42.5% | |
| 2 | Outside area, other | 28 | 12.8% | |
| 3 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 28 | 12.8% | |
| 4 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 14 | 6.4% | |
| 5 | Common room, den, family room, living room, lounge | 8 | 3.7% | |
| 6 | Cooking area, kitchen | 7 | 3.2% | |
| 7 | Chute/container - trash, rubbish, waste | 6 | 2.7% | |
| 8 | Wildland, woods | 6 | 2.7% | |
| 9 | Attic: vacant, crawl space above top story, cupola | 4 | 1.8% | |
| 10 | Switchgear area, transformer vault | 3 | 1.4% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 22 | 10.0% |
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 Star City mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 116 | 53.0% | |
| 2 | Hot ember or ash | 36 | 16.4% | |
| 3 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 11 | 5.0% | |
| 4 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 7 | 3.2% | |
| 5 | Heat source: other | 6 | 2.7% | |
| 6 | Arcing | 6 | 2.7% | |
| 7 | Cigarette | 5 | 2.3% | |
| 8 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 4 | 1.8% | |
| 9 | Heat from other open flame or smoking materials | 4 | 1.8% | |
| 10 | Cigarette lighter | 4 | 1.8% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 20 | 9.1% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Star City departments in 2025. These 8 fires alone account for 99% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $350,000 | Fire in mobile home used as fixed residence | Major | Investigated |
| 2 | $75,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $45,000 | Fire in mobile prop. used as a fixed struc., other | Significant | Investigated |
| 4 | $30,000 | Fire in motor home, camper, recreational vehicle | Significant | Investigated |
| 5 | $25,000 | Fires in structures other than in a building | Significant | Investigated |
| 6 | $10,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 7 | $10,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 8 | $5,500 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Star City sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 13,356 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 | 3,070 | 36.7 mi | |
| 2013 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 1,509 | 41.6 mi | |
| 2012 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 1,414 | 31.5 mi | |
| 2010 | Arson/incendiarism | 1,013 | 36.4 mi | |
| 2013 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 755 | 41.9 mi | |
| 2016 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 606 | 24.3 mi | |
| 2013 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 495 | 22.8 mi | |
| 2016 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 468 | 27.6 mi | |
| 2006 | Debris and open burning | 336 | 39.1 mi | |
| 2011 | Natural | 310 | 49.0 mi | |
| 2005 | Debris and open burning | 307 | 44.9 mi | |
| 2011 | Natural | 300 | 40.2 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 Arkansas cities with population within ±25% of Star City. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
1 departments report to NFIRS for incidents in Star City.
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.