In 2025, fire departments serving Brainerd responded to 150 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $475K building blaze. Here's the full picture.
Unauthorized burning lead by count. Building fires lead by dollars. Together the top five categories make up about 59% of all calls.
May peaks. Aug dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
727 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2022. $7.7M cumulative property loss. 2 civilian deaths.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 137 | — | |
| 2022 | 154 | +12.4% | |
| 2023 | 152 | -1.3% | |
| 2024 | 134 | -11.8% | |
| 2025 | 150 | +11.9% |
For the 16 building fires Brainerd departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 339 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 | 108 | 31.9% | |
| 2 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 75 | 22.1% | |
| 3 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 43 | 12.7% | |
| 4 | Outside area, other | 15 | 4.4% | |
| 5 | Vehicle storage area; garage, carport | 11 | 3.2% | |
| 6 | Vehicle area, other | 10 | 2.9% | |
| 7 | Cooking area, kitchen | 8 | 2.4% | |
| 8 | Other | 7 | 2.1% | |
| 9 | Laundry area, wash house (laundry) | 7 | 2.1% | |
| 10 | Storage area, other | 6 | 1.8% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 49 | 14.5% |
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 Brainerd mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 198 | 58.4% | |
| 2 | Hot ember or ash | 86 | 25.4% | |
| 3 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 15 | 4.4% | |
| 4 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 6 | 1.8% | |
| 5 | Flame/torch used for lighting | 5 | 1.5% | |
| 6 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 4 | 1.2% | |
| 7 | Arcing | 4 | 1.2% | |
| 8 | Heat, spark from friction | 3 | 0.9% | |
| 9 | Heat from other open flame or smoking materials | 3 | 0.9% | |
| 10 | Heat source: other | 2 | 0.6% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 13 | 3.8% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Brainerd departments in 2025. These 8 fires alone account for 90% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $475,000 | Building fires | Major | Investigated |
| 2 | $150,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $140,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 4 | $85,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 5 | $35,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 6 | $35,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 7 | $30,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 8 | $25,000 | Camper or recreational vehicle (RV) fire | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Brainerd sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 24,827 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 | 49.5 mi | |
| 1992 | Debris and open burning | 1,737 | 34.7 mi | |
| 2015 | Equipment and vehicle use | 1,725 | 34.4 mi | |
| 2012 | Equipment and vehicle use | 1,520 | 38.2 mi | |
| 1996 | Recreation and ceremony | 1,460 | 40.0 mi | |
| 2002 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 1,260 | 4.1 mi | |
| 2003 | Arson/incendiarism | 1,250 | 31.8 mi | |
| 2009 | Arson/incendiarism | 1,150 | 47.6 mi | |
| 1997 | Arson/incendiarism | 930 | 46.5 mi | |
| 2012 | Arson/incendiarism | 850 | 46.2 mi | |
| 1992 | Arson/incendiarism | 830 | 28.0 mi | |
| 1998 | Arson/incendiarism | 750 | 27.8 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 Brainerd. 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.