In 2025, fire departments serving Stuart responded to 29 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $30K building blaze. Here's the full picture.
Grass fire lead by count. Building fires lead by dollars. Together the top five categories make up about 72% of all calls.
Mar peaks. Aug dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
100 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2025. $108K cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 13 | — | |
| 2022 | 24 | +84.6% | |
| 2023 | 19 | -20.8% | |
| 2024 | 15 | -21.1% | |
| 2025 | 29 | +93.3% |
For the 2 building fires Stuart 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 | 24 | 72.7% | |
| 2 | Other | 2 | 6.1% | |
| 3 | Outside area, other | 2 | 6.1% | |
| 4 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 2 | 6.1% | |
| 5 | Common room, den, family room, living room, lounge | 1 | 3.0% | |
| 6 | Laundry area, wash house (laundry) | 1 | 3.0% | |
| 7 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 1 | 3.0% |
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 Stuart mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 26 | 78.8% | |
| 2 | Heat source: other | 1 | 3.0% | |
| 3 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 1 | 3.0% | |
| 4 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 1 | 3.0% | |
| 5 | Arcing | 1 | 3.0% | |
| 6 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 1 | 3.0% | |
| 7 | Heat, spark from friction | 1 | 3.0% | |
| 8 | Hot ember or ash | 1 | 3.0% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Stuart departments in 2025. These 6 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $30,000 | Off-road vehicle or heavy equipment fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 2 | $20,000 | Fire in mobile home used as fixed residence | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $20,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 4 | $2,500 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 5 | $500 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 6 | $1 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Stuart sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 3,669 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2006 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 346 | 34.1 mi | |
| 2019 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 328 | 34.4 mi | |
| 2014 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 320 | 33.3 mi | |
| 2011 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 300 | 9.2 mi | |
| 2011 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 300 | 35.9 mi | |
| 2014 | Debris and open burning | 200 | 47.3 mi | |
| 2007 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 150 | 39.5 mi | |
| 2009 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 120 | 45.1 mi | |
| 2013 | Debris and open burning | 120 | 44.4 mi | |
| 2012 | Debris and open burning | 120 | 27.6 mi | |
| 2009 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 115 | 24.9 mi | |
| 2017 | Debris and open burning | 110 | 33.1 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 | 50250 | 100 |
Six Iowa cities with population within ±25% of Stuart. 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.