In 2025, fire departments serving Barnesville responded to 26 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $9K 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 77% of all calls.
May peaks. Feb dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
127 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2024. $374K cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 23 | — | |
| 2022 | 22 | -4.3% | |
| 2023 | 26 | +18.2% | |
| 2024 | 30 | +15.4% | |
| 2025 | 26 | -13.3% |
For the 2 building fires Barnesville departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 51 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 | 22 | 43.1% | |
| 2 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 11 | 21.6% | |
| 3 | Vehicle area, other | 5 | 9.8% | |
| 4 | Outside area, other | 3 | 5.9% | |
| 5 | Vehicle storage area; garage, carport | 2 | 3.9% | |
| 6 | Duct: hvac, cable, exhaust, heating, or AC | 2 | 3.9% | |
| 7 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 2 | 3.9% | |
| 8 | Common room, den, family room, living room, lounge | 1 | 2.0% | |
| 9 | Bathroom, checkroom, lavatory, locker room | 1 | 2.0% | |
| 10 | Heating room or area, water heater area | 1 | 2.0% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 1 | 2.0% |
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 Barnesville mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 30 | 58.8% | |
| 2 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 4 | 7.8% | |
| 3 | Arcing | 4 | 7.8% | |
| 4 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 3 | 5.9% | |
| 5 | Heat from other open flame or smoking materials | 3 | 5.9% | |
| 6 | Heat source: other | 1 | 2.0% | |
| 7 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 1 | 2.0% | |
| 8 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 1 | 2.0% | |
| 9 | Hot ember or ash | 1 | 2.0% | |
| 10 | Incendiary device | 1 | 2.0% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 2 | 3.9% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Barnesville departments in 2025. These 8 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $8,500 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 2 | $5,000 | Road freight or transport vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $3,500 | Self-propelled motor home or recreational vehicle | Significant | Investigated |
| 4 | $2,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 5 | $700 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 6 | $500 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 7 | $500 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 8 | $1 | Off-road vehicle or heavy equipment fire | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Barnesville sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 23,106 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2003 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 2,855 | 10.2 mi | |
| 2003 | Debris and open burning | 1,593 | 29.8 mi | |
| 2011 | Debris and open burning | 1,540 | 38.0 mi | |
| 2015 | Equipment and vehicle use | 1,200 | 29.0 mi | |
| 2012 | Equipment and vehicle use | 1,185 | 39.4 mi | |
| 1996 | Arson/incendiarism | 1,155 | 13.0 mi | |
| 2011 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 1,122 | 33.8 mi | |
| 2011 | Arson/incendiarism | 1,000 | 41.5 mi | |
| 1999 | Debris and open burning | 990 | 33.8 mi | |
| 2006 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 950 | 40.5 mi | |
| 2003 | Debris and open burning | 943 | 45.9 mi | |
| 1992 | Debris and open burning | 910 | 14.6 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 | 56514 | 127 |
Six Minnesota cities with population within ±25% of Barnesville. 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.