In 2025, fire departments serving Stedman responded to 47 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $9K 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 68% of all calls.
Jan peaks. Sep dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
361 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2022. $703K cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 51 | — | |
| 2022 | 126 | +147.1% | |
| 2023 | 76 | -39.7% | |
| 2024 | 61 | -19.7% | |
| 2025 | 47 | -23.0% |
For the 15 building fires Stedman departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 118 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 | 28 | 23.7% | |
| 2 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 20 | 16.9% | |
| 3 | Undetermined | 12 | 10.2% | |
| 4 | Wildland, woods | 10 | 8.5% | |
| 5 | Cooking area, kitchen | 8 | 6.8% | |
| 6 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 6 | 5.1% | |
| 7 | Other | 4 | 3.4% | |
| 8 | Vehicle area, other | 4 | 3.4% | |
| 9 | Exterior, exposed surface | 4 | 3.4% | |
| 10 | Vehicle storage area; garage, carport | 2 | 1.7% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 20 | 16.9% |
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 Stedman mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 41 | 34.7% | |
| 2 | Hot ember or ash | 11 | 9.3% | |
| 3 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 9 | 7.6% | |
| 4 | Heat from direct flame, convection currents | 7 | 5.9% | |
| 5 | Heat source: other | 6 | 5.1% | |
| 6 | Flame/torch used for lighting | 6 | 5.1% | |
| 7 | Arcing | 5 | 4.2% | |
| 8 | Flying brand, ember, spark | 5 | 4.2% | |
| 9 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 3 | 2.5% | |
| 10 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 3 | 2.5% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 22 | 18.6% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Stedman departments in 2025. These 4 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $9,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 2 | $2,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $2,000 | Fires in structures other than in a building | Significant | Investigated |
| 4 | $1,000 | Fires in structures other than in a building | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Stedman sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 23,790 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2011 | Natural | 5,438 | 11.6 mi | |
| 2008 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 2,084 | 40.1 mi | |
| 2017 | Equipment and vehicle use | 1,358 | 46.0 mi | |
| 2018 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 1,181 | 43.7 mi | |
| 2011 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 1,164 | 10.7 mi | |
| 2016 | Equipment and vehicle use | 969 | 46.8 mi | |
| 1993 | Debris and open burning | 900 | 34.1 mi | |
| 2008 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 830 | 35.8 mi | |
| 2007 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 795 | 27.0 mi | |
| 2006 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 750 | 21.4 mi | |
| 1992 | Debris and open burning | 716 | 31.4 mi | |
| 1993 | Natural | 700 | 40.3 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 North Carolina cities with population within ±25% of Stedman. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
2 departments report to NFIRS for incidents in Stedman.
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.