In 2025, fire departments serving Sullivan responded to 206 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $150K 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 54% of all calls.
Mar peaks. Dec dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
881 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2024. $507K cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 129 | — | |
| 2022 | 172 | +33.3% | |
| 2023 | 165 | -4.1% | |
| 2024 | 209 | +26.7% | |
| 2025 | 206 | -1.4% |
For the 32 building fires Sullivan departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 328 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 | 116 | 35.4% | |
| 2 | Outside area, other | 54 | 16.5% | |
| 3 | Cooking area, kitchen | 22 | 6.7% | |
| 4 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 22 | 6.7% | |
| 5 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 21 | 6.4% | |
| 6 | Wildland, woods | 15 | 4.6% | |
| 7 | Highway, parking lot, street: on or near | 10 | 3.0% | |
| 8 | Other | 9 | 2.7% | |
| 9 | Bedroom - < 5 persons; included are jail or prison | 6 | 1.8% | |
| 10 | Vehicle storage area; garage, carport | 4 | 1.2% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 49 | 14.9% |
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 Sullivan mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 248 | 75.6% | |
| 2 | Cigarette lighter | 12 | 3.7% | |
| 3 | Arcing | 11 | 3.4% | |
| 4 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 10 | 3.0% | |
| 5 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 9 | 2.7% | |
| 6 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 8 | 2.4% | |
| 7 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 5 | 1.5% | |
| 8 | Heat from other open flame or smoking materials | 5 | 1.5% | |
| 9 | Flying brand, ember, spark | 5 | 1.5% | |
| 10 | Hot ember or ash | 4 | 1.2% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 11 | 3.4% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Sullivan departments in 2025. These 3 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $150,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 2 | $3,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $1,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Sullivan sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 13,293 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2004 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 1,026 | 14.1 mi | |
| 2016 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 800 | 11.2 mi | |
| 2000 | Arson/incendiarism | 755 | 49.9 mi | |
| 2007 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 750 | 38.4 mi | |
| 1998 | Arson/incendiarism | 740 | 28.6 mi | |
| 2018 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 685 | 37.2 mi | |
| 2011 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 644 | 37.1 mi | |
| 2012 | Arson/incendiarism | 616 | 38.1 mi | |
| 2006 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 542 | 35.0 mi | |
| 2011 | Equipment and vehicle use | 522 | 38.4 mi | |
| 1997 | Misuse of fire by a minor | 522 | 21.3 mi | |
| 1992 | Debris and open burning | 517 | 12.0 mi |
Top 9 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 Sullivan. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
1 departments report to NFIRS for incidents in Sullivan.
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.