In 2025, fire departments serving Credit River responded to 21 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $50K 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 86% of all calls.
Mar peaks. Aug dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
78 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2024. $148K cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021* | 1 | — | |
| 2022 | 16 | — | |
| 2023 | 19 | +18.8% | |
| 2024 | 21 | +10.5% | |
| 2025 | 21 | +0.0% |
* Well below Credit River's usual volume. That almost always means one or more departments didn't submit a full year to NFIRS, not that fires dropped, so no year-over-year change is shown for it.
For the 5 building fires Credit River departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 27 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 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 12 | 44.4% | |
| 2 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 2 | 7.4% | |
| 3 | Outside area, other | 2 | 7.4% | |
| 4 | Undetermined | 2 | 7.4% | |
| 5 | Storage area, other | 1 | 3.7% | |
| 6 | Storage: supplies or tools; dead storage | 1 | 3.7% | |
| 7 | Chute/container - trash, rubbish, waste | 1 | 3.7% | |
| 8 | Wall surface: exterior | 1 | 3.7% | |
| 9 | Roof surface: exterior | 1 | 3.7% | |
| 10 | Vehicle area, other | 1 | 3.7% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 3 | 11.1% |
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 Credit River mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 11 | 40.7% | |
| 2 | Flying brand, ember, spark | 3 | 11.1% | |
| 3 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 2 | 7.4% | |
| 4 | Heat from direct flame, convection currents | 2 | 7.4% | |
| 5 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 1 | 3.7% | |
| 6 | Arcing | 1 | 3.7% | |
| 7 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 1 | 3.7% | |
| 8 | Molten, hot material | 1 | 3.7% | |
| 9 | Hot ember or ash | 1 | 3.7% | |
| 10 | Heat from other open flame or smoking materials | 1 | 3.7% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 3 | 11.1% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Credit River departments in 2025. These 6 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $50,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 2 | $15,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $15,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 4 | $8,000 | Mobile property (vehicle) fire, other | Significant | Investigated |
| 5 | $500 | Grass fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 6 | $500 | Outside equipment fire | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Credit River sits below the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 19,341 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | Debris and open burning | 8,513 | 45.8 mi | |
| 2006 | Arson/incendiarism | 2,909 | 36.2 mi | |
| 2009 | Arson/incendiarism | 2,550 | 44.3 mi | |
| 2004 | Recreation and ceremony | 1,000 | 12.9 mi | |
| 2012 | Debris and open burning | 400 | 31.6 mi | |
| 2010 | Equipment and vehicle use | 336 | 43.0 mi | |
| 1999 | Railroad operations and maintenance | 306 | 41.1 mi | |
| 1996 | Arson/incendiarism | 290 | 35.4 mi | |
| 2005 | Debris and open burning | 260 | 44.8 mi | |
| 2004 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 250 | 34.3 mi | |
| 2007 | Recreation and ceremony | 248 | 48.2 mi | |
| 2009 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 225 | 22.7 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 Credit River. 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.