In 2025, fire departments serving Bloomfield responded to 102 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $1.0M building blaze. Here's the full picture.
Brush, or brush and grass mixture fire lead by count. Building fires lead by dollars. Together the top five categories make up about 72% of all calls.
Feb peaks. Dec dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
348 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2025. $5.6M cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 42 | — | |
| 2022 | 86 | +104.8% | |
| 2023 | 66 | -23.3% | |
| 2024 | 52 | -21.2% | |
| 2025 | 102 | +96.2% |
For the 15 building fires Bloomfield departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 88 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 | 14 | 15.9% | |
| 2 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 12 | 13.6% | |
| 3 | Storage area, other | 8 | 9.1% | |
| 4 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 8 | 9.1% | |
| 5 | Cooking area, kitchen | 4 | 4.5% | |
| 6 | Outside area, other | 4 | 4.5% | |
| 7 | Function area, other | 3 | 3.4% | |
| 8 | Technical processing areas, other | 3 | 3.4% | |
| 9 | Vehicle storage area; garage, carport | 3 | 3.4% | |
| 10 | Wall assembly | 3 | 3.4% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 26 | 29.5% |
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 Bloomfield mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 18 | 20.5% | |
| 2 | Heat spread from another fire, other | 13 | 14.8% | |
| 3 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 9 | 10.2% | |
| 4 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 7 | 8.0% | |
| 5 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 6 | 6.8% | |
| 6 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 5 | 5.7% | |
| 7 | Arcing | 5 | 5.7% | |
| 8 | Heat, spark from friction | 4 | 4.5% | |
| 9 | Heat from other open flame or smoking materials | 4 | 4.5% | |
| 10 | Hot ember or ash | 3 | 3.4% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 14 | 15.9% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Bloomfield departments in 2025. These 8 fires alone account for 91% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $1,000,000 | Off-road vehicle or heavy equipment fire | Major | Investigated |
| 2 | $750,000 | Building fires | Major | Investigated |
| 3 | $200,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 4 | $125,000 | Off-road vehicle or heavy equipment fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 5 | $85,000 | Off-road vehicle or heavy equipment fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 6 | $80,000 | Road freight or transport vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 7 | $75,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 8 | $75,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Bloomfield sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 8,248 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2005 | Arson/incendiarism | 1,200 | 45.8 mi | |
| 2014 | Debris and open burning | 1,000 | 46.1 mi | |
| 2017 | Debris and open burning | 640 | 9.0 mi | |
| 2020 | Debris and open burning | 500 | 9.2 mi | |
| 2014 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 500 | 42.1 mi | |
| 2015 | Debris and open burning | 500 | 44.4 mi | |
| 2020 | Debris and open burning | 454 | 10.4 mi | |
| 2017 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 340 | 5.6 mi | |
| 2015 | Debris and open burning | 300 | 46.8 mi | |
| 2014 | Debris and open burning | 250 | 43.9 mi | |
| 2019 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 228 | 43.2 mi | |
| 2009 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 200 | 20.4 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 | 52537 | 348 |
Six Iowa cities with population within ±25% of Bloomfield. 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.