In 2025, fire departments serving Stickney responded to 97 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $75K building blaze. Here's the full picture.
Gas leak (natural gas or LPG) lead by count. Building fires lead by dollars. Together the top five categories make up about 47% of all calls.
Mar peaks. Jan dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
428 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2022. $648K cumulative property loss. 1 civilian deaths.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 80 | — | |
| 2022 | 114 | +42.5% | |
| 2023 | 82 | -28.1% | |
| 2024 | 55 | -32.9% | |
| 2025 | 97 | +76.4% |
For the 5 building fires Stickney departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 77 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 | 18 | 23.4% | |
| 2 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 11 | 14.3% | |
| 3 | Undetermined | 10 | 13.0% | |
| 4 | Cooking area, kitchen | 6 | 7.8% | |
| 5 | Other | 4 | 5.2% | |
| 6 | Vehicle storage area; garage, carport | 4 | 5.2% | |
| 7 | Operator/passenger area of transportation equip. | 4 | 5.2% | |
| 8 | Function area, other | 2 | 2.6% | |
| 9 | Chute/container - trash, rubbish, waste | 2 | 2.6% | |
| 10 | Vehicle area, other | 2 | 2.6% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 14 | 18.2% |
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 Stickney mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 35 | 45.5% | |
| 2 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 9 | 11.7% | |
| 3 | Arcing | 7 | 9.1% | |
| 4 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 7 | 9.1% | |
| 5 | Heat source: other | 4 | 5.2% | |
| 6 | Hot ember or ash | 3 | 3.9% | |
| 7 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 2 | 2.6% | |
| 8 | Heat from other open flame or smoking materials | 2 | 2.6% | |
| 9 | Cigarette | 2 | 2.6% | |
| 10 | Cigarette lighter | 2 | 2.6% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 4 | 5.2% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Stickney departments in 2025. These 7 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $75,000 | Road freight or transport vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 2 | $20,000 | Fires in structures other than in a building | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $5,000 | Fire, other | Significant | Investigated |
| 4 | $3,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 5 | $1,500 | Water vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 6 | $1,000 | Mobile property (vehicle) fire, other | Significant | Investigated |
| 7 | $100 | Special outside fire, other | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Stickney sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 6,291 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2015 | Misuse of fire by a minor | 750 | 40.1 mi | |
| 2003 | Natural | 600 | 41.9 mi | |
| 2003 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 450 | 40.3 mi | |
| 2002 | Railroad operations and maintenance | 396 | 29.3 mi | |
| 1993 | Railroad operations and maintenance | 341 | 29.2 mi | |
| 2012 | Railroad operations and maintenance | 291 | 28.7 mi | |
| 2019 | Railroad operations and maintenance | 274 | 29.9 mi | |
| 1995 | Debris and open burning | 253 | 29.7 mi | |
| 1996 | Railroad operations and maintenance | 244 | 29.1 mi | |
| 2003 | Debris and open burning | 232 | 37.6 mi | |
| 2019 | Railroad operations and maintenance | 216 | 29.3 mi | |
| 2003 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 204 | 28.4 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 Illinois cities with population within ±25% of Stickney. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
1 departments report to NFIRS for incidents in Stickney.
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.