In 2025, fire departments serving Sterling responded to 235 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $126K 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 57% of all calls.
Jan peaks. Oct dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
1,212 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2024. $2.7M cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 200 | — | |
| 2022 | 247 | +23.5% | |
| 2023 | 246 | -0.4% | |
| 2024 | 284 | +15.4% | |
| 2025 | 235 | -17.3% |
For the 54 building fires Sterling departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 225 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 | 57 | 25.3% | |
| 2 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 38 | 16.9% | |
| 3 | Cooking area, kitchen | 19 | 8.4% | |
| 4 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 18 | 8.0% | |
| 5 | Outside area, other | 10 | 4.4% | |
| 6 | Vehicle storage area; garage, carport | 7 | 3.1% | |
| 7 | Vehicle area, other | 6 | 2.7% | |
| 8 | Highway, parking lot, street: on or near | 6 | 2.7% | |
| 9 | Wall surface: exterior | 5 | 2.2% | |
| 10 | Wildland, woods | 5 | 2.2% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 54 | 24.0% |
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 Sterling mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 121 | 53.8% | |
| 2 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 20 | 8.9% | |
| 3 | Arcing | 19 | 8.4% | |
| 4 | Hot ember or ash | 19 | 8.4% | |
| 5 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 7 | 3.1% | |
| 6 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 5 | 2.2% | |
| 7 | Cigarette | 5 | 2.2% | |
| 8 | Flame/torch used for lighting | 5 | 2.2% | |
| 9 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 4 | 1.8% | |
| 10 | Cigarette lighter | 4 | 1.8% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 16 | 7.1% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Sterling departments in 2025. These 8 fires alone account for 91% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $126,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 2 | $75,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $75,000 | Road freight or transport vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 4 | $70,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 5 | $60,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 6 | $50,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 7 | $45,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 8 | $40,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Sterling sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 4,283 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2015 | Debris and open burning | 1,500 | 47.2 mi | |
| 2015 | Debris and open burning | 640 | 43.2 mi | |
| 2014 | Recreation and ceremony | 265 | 23.7 mi | |
| 2012 | Debris and open burning | 210 | 48.3 mi | |
| 2014 | Debris and open burning | 200 | 40.4 mi | |
| 2006 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 200 | 49.1 mi | |
| 2015 | Debris and open burning | 195 | 30.4 mi | |
| 2010 | Debris and open burning | 100 | 29.6 mi | |
| 2009 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 100 | 44.9 mi | |
| 2004 | Recreation and ceremony | 100 | 44.4 mi | |
| 2008 | Natural | 75 | 43.0 mi | |
| 2010 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 70 | 30.1 mi |
Top 7 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 Sterling. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
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.