In 2025, fire departments serving Blackduck responded to 15 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $250K building blaze. Here's the full picture.
Vehicle accident, general cleanup lead by count. Building fires lead by dollars. Together the top five categories make up about 80% of all calls.
May peaks. Jan dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
75 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2021. $756K cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 20 | — | |
| 2022 | 11 | -45.0% | |
| 2023 | 13 | +18.2% | |
| 2024 | 16 | +23.1% | |
| 2025 | 15 | -6.2% |
For the 1 building fires Blackduck departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 23 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 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 6 | 26.1% | |
| 2 | Undetermined | 3 | 13.0% | |
| 3 | Attic: vacant, crawl space above top story, cupola | 2 | 8.7% | |
| 4 | Vehicle area, other | 2 | 8.7% | |
| 5 | Common room, den, family room, living room, lounge | 1 | 4.3% | |
| 6 | Function area, other | 1 | 4.3% | |
| 7 | Bedroom - < 5 persons; included are jail or prison | 1 | 4.3% | |
| 8 | Dining room, cafeteria bar area, beverage service | 1 | 4.3% | |
| 9 | Vehicle storage area; garage, carport | 1 | 4.3% | |
| 10 | Ceiling & floor assembly, crawl space b/t stories | 1 | 4.3% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 4 | 17.4% |
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 Blackduck mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Arcing | 10 | 43.5% | |
| 2 | Undetermined | 4 | 17.4% | |
| 3 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 2 | 8.7% | |
| 4 | Backfire from internal combustion engine | 2 | 8.7% | |
| 5 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 1 | 4.3% | |
| 6 | Hot ember or ash | 1 | 4.3% | |
| 7 | Fireworks | 1 | 4.3% | |
| 8 | Flame/torch used for lighting | 1 | 4.3% | |
| 9 | Heat spread from another fire, other | 1 | 4.3% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Blackduck departments in 2025. These 5 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $250,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Major | Investigated |
| 2 | $25,000 | Road freight or transport vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $5,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 4 | $3,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 5 | $500 | Brush, or brush and grass mixture fire | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Blackduck sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 85,138 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2003 | Debris and open burning | 19,782 | 37.9 mi | |
| 2002 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 8,480 | 41.7 mi | |
| 2002 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 7,455 | 42.1 mi | |
| 1998 | Debris and open burning | 6,000 | 44.1 mi | |
| 2007 | Debris and open burning | 5,157 | 45.4 mi | |
| 2000 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 5,120 | 41.6 mi | |
| 2006 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 3,650 | 37.8 mi | |
| 1995 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 3,500 | 34.7 mi | |
| 2000 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 3,250 | 37.9 mi | |
| 2018 | Debris and open burning | 2,411 | 37.4 mi | |
| 2002 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 2,010 | 36.6 mi | |
| 2002 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 1,971 | 43.2 mi |
Top 2 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 Blackduck. 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.