In 2025, fire departments serving Sterlington responded to 31 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $50K 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 61% of all calls.
Jul peaks. Feb dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
173 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2024. $595K cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 26 | — | |
| 2022 | 29 | +11.5% | |
| 2023 | 35 | +20.7% | |
| 2024 | 52 | +48.6% | |
| 2025 | 31 | -40.4% |
For the 6 building fires Sterlington departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 94 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 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 43 | 45.7% | |
| 2 | Undetermined | 11 | 11.7% | |
| 3 | Cooking area, kitchen | 4 | 4.3% | |
| 4 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 4 | 4.3% | |
| 5 | Outside area, other | 4 | 4.3% | |
| 6 | Highway, parking lot, street: on or near | 4 | 4.3% | |
| 7 | Vehicle storage area; garage, carport | 3 | 3.2% | |
| 8 | Chute/container - trash, rubbish, waste | 2 | 2.1% | |
| 9 | Cargo/trunk area - all vehicles | 2 | 2.1% | |
| 10 | Exterior, exposed surface | 2 | 2.1% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 15 | 16.0% |
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 Sterlington mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 59 | 62.8% | |
| 2 | Hot ember or ash | 6 | 6.4% | |
| 3 | Arcing | 5 | 5.3% | |
| 4 | Match | 3 | 3.2% | |
| 5 | Flame/torch used for lighting | 3 | 3.2% | |
| 6 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 2 | 2.1% | |
| 7 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 2 | 2.1% | |
| 8 | Heat from other open flame or smoking materials | 2 | 2.1% | |
| 9 | Heat from direct flame, convection currents | 2 | 2.1% | |
| 10 | Heat source: other | 1 | 1.1% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 9 | 9.6% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Sterlington departments in 2025. These 8 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $50,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 2 | $50,000 | Road freight or transport vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $40,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 4 | $40,000 | Camper or recreational vehicle (RV) fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 5 | $20,000 | Outside equipment fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 6 | $6,000 | Outside storage fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 7 | $1,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 8 | $1,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Sterlington sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 15,874 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2006 | Arson/incendiarism | 3,669 | 35.9 mi | |
| 2006 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 1,806 | 16.4 mi | |
| 2005 | Debris and open burning | 1,806 | 21.9 mi | |
| 2013 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 1,509 | 47.4 mi | |
| 1996 | Arson/incendiarism | 929 | 43.7 mi | |
| 2005 | Arson/incendiarism | 902 | 47.6 mi | |
| 2013 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 755 | 46.0 mi | |
| 2016 | Arson/incendiarism | 632 | 22.6 mi | |
| 2011 | Natural | 310 | 47.0 mi | |
| 2011 | Natural | 300 | 49.0 mi | |
| 2016 | Arson/incendiarism | 300 | 48.6 mi | |
| 2006 | Arson/incendiarism | 295 | 35.2 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 Louisiana cities with population within ±25% of Sterlington. 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.