In 2025, fire departments serving Bovey responded to 20 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $10K 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 80% of all calls.
Oct peaks. Jan dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
155 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2022. $889K cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 32 | — | |
| 2022 | 48 | +50.0% | |
| 2023 | 25 | -47.9% | |
| 2024 | 30 | +20.0% | |
| 2025 | 20 | -33.3% |
For the 3 building fires Bovey departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 40 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 | 8 | 20.0% | |
| 2 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 6 | 15.0% | |
| 3 | Vehicle area, other | 5 | 12.5% | |
| 4 | Common room, den, family room, living room, lounge | 4 | 10.0% | |
| 5 | Vehicle storage area; garage, carport | 3 | 7.5% | |
| 6 | Cooking area, kitchen | 2 | 5.0% | |
| 7 | Outside area, other | 2 | 5.0% | |
| 8 | Exterior stairway, ramp, or fire escape | 1 | 2.5% | |
| 9 | Arena, assembly area w/ fixed seats - 100+ persons | 1 | 2.5% | |
| 10 | Bathroom, checkroom, lavatory, locker room | 1 | 2.5% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 7 | 17.5% |
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 Bovey mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 12 | 30.0% | |
| 2 | Heat source: other | 6 | 15.0% | |
| 3 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 5 | 12.5% | |
| 4 | Arcing | 4 | 10.0% | |
| 5 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 3 | 7.5% | |
| 6 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 2 | 5.0% | |
| 7 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 2 | 5.0% | |
| 8 | Cigarette lighter | 2 | 5.0% | |
| 9 | Hot ember or ash | 1 | 2.5% | |
| 10 | Heat from other open flame or smoking materials | 1 | 2.5% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 2 | 5.0% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Bovey departments in 2025. These 4 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $10,000 | Fire in mobile home used as fixed residence | Significant | Investigated |
| 2 | $500 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $10 | Grass fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 4 | $10 | Forest, woods or wildland fire | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Bovey sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 16,608 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2015 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 3,200 | 43.1 mi | |
| 1996 | Arson/incendiarism | 1,242 | 34.9 mi | |
| 2009 | Arson/incendiarism | 1,150 | 33.3 mi | |
| 1998 | Railroad operations and maintenance | 950 | 37.7 mi | |
| 1997 | Arson/incendiarism | 930 | 48.6 mi | |
| 2012 | Arson/incendiarism | 850 | 35.0 mi | |
| 2003 | Railroad operations and maintenance | 732 | 37.6 mi | |
| 1996 | Arson/incendiarism | 725 | 35.1 mi | |
| 1999 | Arson/incendiarism | 679 | 36.2 mi | |
| 1992 | Arson/incendiarism | 600 | 33.6 mi | |
| 1997 | Debris and open burning | 600 | 33.7 mi | |
| 2010 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 517 | 20.8 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 Bovey. 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.