In 2025, fire departments serving Andover responded to 154 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $461K 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 73% of all calls.
Mar peaks. Nov dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
702 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2024. $4.3M cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 108 | — | |
| 2022 | 141 | +30.6% | |
| 2023 | 144 | +2.1% | |
| 2024 | 155 | +7.6% | |
| 2025 | 154 | -0.6% |
For the 60 building fires Andover departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 129 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 | 26 | 20.2% | |
| 2 | Undetermined | 23 | 17.8% | |
| 3 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 14 | 10.9% | |
| 4 | Vehicle storage area; garage, carport | 10 | 7.8% | |
| 5 | Other | 8 | 6.2% | |
| 6 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 8 | 6.2% | |
| 7 | Wildland, woods | 7 | 5.4% | |
| 8 | Storage area, other | 6 | 4.7% | |
| 9 | Cooking area, kitchen | 4 | 3.1% | |
| 10 | Bathroom, checkroom, lavatory, locker room | 3 | 2.3% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 20 | 15.5% |
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 Andover mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 55 | 42.6% | |
| 2 | Heat source: other | 14 | 10.9% | |
| 3 | Hot ember or ash | 13 | 10.1% | |
| 4 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 7 | 5.4% | |
| 5 | Arcing | 6 | 4.7% | |
| 6 | Fireworks | 5 | 3.9% | |
| 7 | Cigarette | 5 | 3.9% | |
| 8 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 4 | 3.1% | |
| 9 | Heat from other open flame or smoking materials | 3 | 2.3% | |
| 10 | Heat spread from another fire, other | 3 | 2.3% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 14 | 10.9% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Andover departments in 2025. These 8 fires alone account for 96% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $460,700 | Building fires | Major | Investigated |
| 2 | $341,700 | Building fires | Major | Investigated |
| 3 | $240,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 4 | $200,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 5 | $170,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 6 | $100,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 7 | $85,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 8 | $50,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Andover sits below the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 20,107 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | Debris and open burning | 8,513 | 10.3 mi | |
| 2009 | Arson/incendiarism | 2,550 | 10.5 mi | |
| 1996 | Debris and open burning | 1,299 | 21.8 mi | |
| 2004 | Recreation and ceremony | 1,000 | 30.3 mi | |
| 2004 | Railroad operations and maintenance | 835 | 39.0 mi | |
| 1993 | Arson/incendiarism | 640 | 48.4 mi | |
| 2000 | Smoking | 420 | 11.9 mi | |
| 2004 | Railroad operations and maintenance | 358 | 45.1 mi | |
| 2010 | Equipment and vehicle use | 336 | 3.4 mi | |
| 2004 | Arson/incendiarism | 335 | 45.9 mi | |
| 1995 | Debris and open burning | 320 | 27.1 mi | |
| 1999 | Railroad operations and maintenance | 306 | 1.7 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 Minnesota cities with population within ±25% of Andover. 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.