In 2025, fire departments serving Caledonia responded to 27 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $1 building blaze. Here's the full picture.
Building fires lead by count. Building fires lead by dollars. Together the top five categories make up about 85% of all calls.
May peaks. Jun dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
111 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2023. $1 cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 18 | — | |
| 2022 | 14 | -22.2% | |
| 2023 | 28 | +100.0% | |
| 2024 | 24 | -14.3% | |
| 2025 | 27 | +12.5% |
For the 13 building fires Caledonia departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 44 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 | 21 | 47.7% | |
| 2 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 4 | 9.1% | |
| 3 | Storage area, other | 3 | 6.8% | |
| 4 | Storage: supplies or tools; dead storage | 3 | 6.8% | |
| 5 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 3 | 6.8% | |
| 6 | Entrance way, lobby | 1 | 2.3% | |
| 7 | Storage room, area, tank, or bin | 1 | 2.3% | |
| 8 | Chute/container - trash, rubbish, waste | 1 | 2.3% | |
| 9 | Machinery room or area; elevator machinery room | 1 | 2.3% | |
| 10 | Maintenance shop or area, paint shop or area | 1 | 2.3% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 5 | 11.4% |
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 Caledonia mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 24 | 54.5% | |
| 2 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 5 | 11.4% | |
| 3 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 4 | 9.1% | |
| 4 | Arcing | 2 | 4.5% | |
| 5 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 2 | 4.5% | |
| 6 | Hot ember or ash | 2 | 4.5% | |
| 7 | Heat source: other | 1 | 2.3% | |
| 8 | Heat, spark from friction | 1 | 2.3% | |
| 9 | Molten, hot material | 1 | 2.3% | |
| 10 | Lightning | 1 | 2.3% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 1 | 2.3% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Caledonia departments in 2025. These 1 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $1 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Caledonia sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 4,491 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | Arson/incendiarism | 1,200 | 36.0 mi | |
| 2000 | Debris and open burning | 360 | 40.0 mi | |
| 2018 | Debris and open burning | 300 | 25.1 mi | |
| 2018 | Debris and open burning | 300 | 24.3 mi | |
| 1998 | Arson/incendiarism | 295 | 48.4 mi | |
| 2012 | Equipment and vehicle use | 195 | 13.0 mi | |
| 2015 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 189 | 47.5 mi | |
| 2012 | Equipment and vehicle use | 166 | 14.0 mi | |
| 2009 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 140 | 47.3 mi | |
| 1999 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 124 | 10.0 mi | |
| 2003 | Debris and open burning | 104 | 47.7 mi | |
| 2010 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 100 | 36.1 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 | 55921 | 111 |
Six Minnesota cities with population within ±25% of Caledonia. 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.