In 2025, fire departments serving Sterrett responded to 24 fire and hazmat incidents . Here's the full picture.
Fires in structures other than in a building lead by count. Building fires lead by dollars. Together the top five categories make up about 67% of all calls.
Feb peaks. Apr dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
112 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2023. $198K cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021* | 9 | — | |
| 2022 | 26 | — | |
| 2023 | 34 | +30.8% | |
| 2024 | 19 | -44.1% | |
| 2025 | 24 | +26.3% |
* Well below Sterrett's usual volume. That almost always means one or more departments didn't submit a full year to NFIRS, not that fires dropped, so no year-over-year change is shown for it.
For the 3 building fires Sterrett departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 59 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 | 16 | 27.1% | |
| 2 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 7 | 11.9% | |
| 3 | Wildland, woods | 7 | 11.9% | |
| 4 | Undetermined | 5 | 8.5% | |
| 5 | Cooking area, kitchen | 4 | 6.8% | |
| 6 | Storage room, area, tank, or bin | 3 | 5.1% | |
| 7 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 3 | 5.1% | |
| 8 | Other | 2 | 3.4% | |
| 9 | Storage area, other | 2 | 3.4% | |
| 10 | Bedroom - < 5 persons; included are jail or prison | 1 | 1.7% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 9 | 15.3% |
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 Sterrett mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 29 | 49.2% | |
| 2 | Heat source: other | 5 | 8.5% | |
| 3 | Hot ember or ash | 5 | 8.5% | |
| 4 | Arcing | 4 | 6.8% | |
| 5 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 3 | 5.1% | |
| 6 | Flame/torch used for lighting | 3 | 5.1% | |
| 7 | Cigarette lighter | 2 | 3.4% | |
| 8 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 1 | 1.7% | |
| 9 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 1 | 1.7% | |
| 10 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 1 | 1.7% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 5 | 8.5% |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Sterrett sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 31,357 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1998 | Arson/incendiarism | 3,108 | 35.4 mi | |
| 2011 | Debris and open burning | 2,950 | 36.1 mi | |
| 2000 | Arson/incendiarism | 2,784 | 49.8 mi | |
| 2014 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 2,500 | 37.1 mi | |
| 2016 | Arson/incendiarism | 2,229 | 34.4 mi | |
| 2000 | Natural | 1,800 | 23.2 mi | |
| 1996 | Recreation and ceremony | 1,540 | 4.1 mi | |
| 2016 | Arson/incendiarism | 1,308 | 41.7 mi | |
| 2000 | Natural | 1,100 | 7.6 mi | |
| 1996 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 1,078 | 42.0 mi | |
| 2016 | Recreation and ceremony | 1,066 | 27.8 mi | |
| 2016 | Arson/incendiarism | 988 | 31.8 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 Alabama cities with population within ±25% of Sterrett. 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.