In 2025, fire departments serving Sugar Creek responded to 50 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $100K building blaze. Here's the full picture.
Unauthorized burning lead by count. Building fires lead by dollars. Together the top five categories make up about 52% of all calls.
Feb peaks. Dec dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
311 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2024. $2.2M cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 44 | — | |
| 2022 | 64 | +45.5% | |
| 2023 | 62 | -3.1% | |
| 2024 | 91 | +46.8% | |
| 2025 | 50 | -45.1% |
For the 5 building fires Sugar Creek departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 55 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 | 11 | 20.0% | |
| 2 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 9 | 16.4% | |
| 3 | Cooking area, kitchen | 5 | 9.1% | |
| 4 | Outside area, other | 5 | 9.1% | |
| 5 | Courtyard, patio, porch, terrace | 3 | 5.5% | |
| 6 | Other | 2 | 3.6% | |
| 7 | Common room, den, family room, living room, lounge | 2 | 3.6% | |
| 8 | Vehicle storage area; garage, carport | 2 | 3.6% | |
| 9 | Duct: hvac, cable, exhaust, heating, or AC | 2 | 3.6% | |
| 10 | Wall surface: exterior | 2 | 3.6% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 12 | 21.8% |
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 Sugar Creek mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 26 | 47.3% | |
| 2 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 9 | 16.4% | |
| 3 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 6 | 10.9% | |
| 4 | Heat source: other | 5 | 9.1% | |
| 5 | Heat, spark from friction | 2 | 3.6% | |
| 6 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 1 | 1.8% | |
| 7 | Arcing | 1 | 1.8% | |
| 8 | Hot ember or ash | 1 | 1.8% | |
| 9 | Incendiary device | 1 | 1.8% | |
| 10 | Cigarette | 1 | 1.8% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 2 | 3.6% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Sugar Creek departments in 2025. These 8 fires alone account for 99% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $100,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 2 | $100,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $100,000 | Road freight or transport vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 4 | $50,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 5 | $30,000 | Off-road vehicle or heavy equipment fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 6 | $20,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 7 | $20,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 8 | $10,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Sugar Creek sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
6 fire-related casualties recorded in NFIRS Module 11 across the 2021–2025 window. Age, gender, and severity are coarse-binned — no individual identification possible.
| Age | Count | |
|---|---|---|
| 0-9 | 0 | |
| 10-19 | 0 | |
| 20-29 | 2 | |
| 30-39 | 0 | |
| 40-49 | 2 | |
| 50-59 | 2 | |
| 60-69 | 0 | |
| 70-79 | 0 | |
| 80+ | 0 |
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 11,226 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2012 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 902 | 39.3 mi | |
| 2009 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 900 | 43.2 mi | |
| 2009 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 800 | 42.7 mi | |
| 2012 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 800 | 41.2 mi | |
| 2007 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 800 | 28.4 mi | |
| 2018 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 750 | 37.7 mi | |
| 2018 | Arson/incendiarism | 667 | 41.8 mi | |
| 1999 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 500 | 44.9 mi | |
| 2015 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 450 | 40.9 mi | |
| 2015 | Debris and open burning | 400 | 38.1 mi | |
| 2015 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 400 | 49.5 mi | |
| 2015 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 400 | 49.5 mi |
Top 5 ZIP codes by NFIRS incident count across 2021–2025. Each ZIP has its own fire profile — dive in for neighborhood-level context.
Six Missouri cities with population within ±25% of Sugar Creek. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
1 departments report to NFIRS for incidents in Sugar Creek.
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.