In 2025, fire departments serving Sycamore responded to 21 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $117K 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 71% of all calls.
Nov peaks. Jul dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
115 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2024. $778K cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 18 | — | |
| 2022 | 18 | +0.0% | |
| 2023 | 19 | +5.6% | |
| 2024 | 39 | +105.3% | |
| 2025 | 21 | -46.2% |
For the 6 building fires Sycamore departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 60 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 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 22 | 36.7% | |
| 2 | Undetermined | 6 | 10.0% | |
| 3 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 5 | 8.3% | |
| 4 | Cooking area, kitchen | 3 | 5.0% | |
| 5 | Conduit, pipe, utility, or ventilation shaft | 3 | 5.0% | |
| 6 | Storage room, area, tank, or bin | 2 | 3.3% | |
| 7 | Wall assembly | 2 | 3.3% | |
| 8 | Wildland, woods | 2 | 3.3% | |
| 9 | Other | 1 | 1.7% | |
| 10 | Corridor, mall | 1 | 1.7% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 13 | 21.7% |
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 Sycamore mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 24 | 40.0% | |
| 2 | Hot ember or ash | 17 | 28.3% | |
| 3 | Match | 6 | 10.0% | |
| 4 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 2 | 3.3% | |
| 5 | Arcing | 2 | 3.3% | |
| 6 | Molten, hot material | 2 | 3.3% | |
| 7 | Heat source: other | 1 | 1.7% | |
| 8 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 1 | 1.7% | |
| 9 | Heat from other open flame or smoking materials | 1 | 1.7% | |
| 10 | Flame/torch used for lighting | 1 | 1.7% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 3 | 5.0% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Sycamore departments in 2025. These 4 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $117,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 2 | $50,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $5,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 4 | $1,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Sycamore sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 5 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 553 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2005 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 332 | 21.4 mi | |
| 2015 | Debris and open burning | 171 | 48.1 mi | |
| 2019 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 20 | 42.7 mi | |
| 2020 | Debris and open burning | 20 | 39.0 mi | |
| 2013 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 10 | 36.9 mi |
Top 3 ZIP codes by NFIRS incident count across 2021–2025. Each ZIP has its own fire profile — dive in for neighborhood-level context.
Six Ohio cities with population within ±25% of Sycamore. 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.