In 2025, fire departments serving Cokato responded to 52 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $1.5M 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 75% of all calls.
Oct peaks. Feb dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
182 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2025. $3.6M cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 29 | — | |
| 2022 | 33 | +13.8% | |
| 2023 | 38 | +15.2% | |
| 2024 | 30 | -21.1% | |
| 2025 | 52 | +73.3% |
For the 27 building fires Cokato departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 49 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 | 15 | 30.6% | |
| 2 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 13 | 26.5% | |
| 3 | Storage area, other | 4 | 8.2% | |
| 4 | Common room, den, family room, living room, lounge | 2 | 4.1% | |
| 5 | Cooking area, kitchen | 2 | 4.1% | |
| 6 | Storage room, area, tank, or bin | 2 | 4.1% | |
| 7 | Heating room or area, water heater area | 2 | 4.1% | |
| 8 | Bedroom - < 5 persons; included are jail or prison | 1 | 2.0% | |
| 9 | Laundry area, wash house (laundry) | 1 | 2.0% | |
| 10 | Substructure area or space, crawl space | 1 | 2.0% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 6 | 12.2% |
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 Cokato mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 16 | 32.7% | |
| 2 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 10 | 20.4% | |
| 3 | Arcing | 9 | 18.4% | |
| 4 | Hot ember or ash | 3 | 6.1% | |
| 5 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 2 | 4.1% | |
| 6 | Heat, spark from friction | 2 | 4.1% | |
| 7 | Heat source: other | 1 | 2.0% | |
| 8 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 1 | 2.0% | |
| 9 | Molten, hot material | 1 | 2.0% | |
| 10 | Heat from other open flame or smoking materials | 1 | 2.0% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 3 | 6.1% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Cokato departments in 2025. These 8 fires alone account for 98% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $1,500,000 | Building fires | Major | Investigated |
| 2 | $450,000 | Building fires | Major | Investigated |
| 3 | $125,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 4 | $75,000 | Camper or recreational vehicle (RV) fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 5 | $50,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 6 | $25,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 7 | $25,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 8 | $25,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Cokato sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 6,597 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1996 | Debris and open burning | 1,299 | 36.8 mi | |
| 2010 | Equipment and vehicle use | 336 | 46.7 mi | |
| 2015 | Debris and open burning | 320 | 36.1 mi | |
| 1995 | Debris and open burning | 320 | 35.5 mi | |
| 1999 | Railroad operations and maintenance | 306 | 45.5 mi | |
| 2010 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 280 | 42.3 mi | |
| 2012 | Equipment and vehicle use | 264 | 40.8 mi | |
| 2020 | Debris and open burning | 260 | 36.7 mi | |
| 1997 | Arson/incendiarism | 231 | 44.0 mi | |
| 1999 | Arson/incendiarism | 229 | 44.0 mi | |
| 1997 | Debris and open burning | 225 | 22.9 mi | |
| 2000 | Equipment and vehicle use | 220 | 42.9 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 Cokato. 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.