In 2025, fire departments serving Stewardson responded to 22 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $200K 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 82% of all calls.
Sep peaks. Jan dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
84 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2025. $593K cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 13 | — | |
| 2022 | 15 | +15.4% | |
| 2023 | 20 | +33.3% | |
| 2024 | 14 | -30.0% | |
| 2025 | 22 | +57.1% |
For the 7 building fires Stewardson departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 33 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 | 7 | 21.2% | |
| 2 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 6 | 18.2% | |
| 3 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 4 | 12.1% | |
| 4 | Other | 3 | 9.1% | |
| 5 | Vehicle storage area; garage, carport | 3 | 9.1% | |
| 6 | Outside area, other | 2 | 6.1% | |
| 7 | Cooking area, kitchen | 1 | 3.0% | |
| 8 | Storage area, other | 1 | 3.0% | |
| 9 | Maintenance shop or area, paint shop or area | 1 | 3.0% | |
| 10 | Ceiling & floor assembly, crawl space b/t stories | 1 | 3.0% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 4 | 12.1% |
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 Stewardson mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 13 | 39.4% | |
| 2 | Heat source: other | 5 | 15.2% | |
| 3 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 5 | 15.2% | |
| 4 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 4 | 12.1% | |
| 5 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 2 | 6.1% | |
| 6 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 1 | 3.0% | |
| 7 | Arcing | 1 | 3.0% | |
| 8 | Hot ember or ash | 1 | 3.0% | |
| 9 | Heat from other open flame or smoking materials | 1 | 3.0% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Stewardson departments in 2025. These 3 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $200,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 2 | $75,000 | Outside storage fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $10,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Stewardson sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 20 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 896 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2009 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 160 | 26.0 mi | |
| 2013 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 100 | 13.2 mi | |
| 2009 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 80 | 39.8 mi | |
| 2014 | Debris and open burning | 80 | 37.1 mi | |
| 2014 | Debris and open burning | 80 | 34.8 mi | |
| 2009 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 60 | 41.5 mi | |
| 2014 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 60 | 3.8 mi | |
| 2003 | Debris and open burning | 50 | 45.4 mi | |
| 2014 | Debris and open burning | 30 | 49.5 mi | |
| 2009 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 30 | 43.5 mi | |
| 2013 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 30 | 19.3 mi | |
| 2013 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 25 | 21.4 mi |
Top 1 ZIP codes by NFIRS incident count across 2021–2025. Each ZIP has its own fire profile — dive in for neighborhood-level context.
| # | ZIP | 5-yr incidents | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 62463 | 84 |
Six Illinois cities with population within ±25% of Stewardson. 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.