In 2025, fire departments serving Cresco responded to 50 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $225K building blaze. Here's the full picture.
Outside rubbish, trash or waste fire lead by count. Building fires lead by dollars. Together the top five categories make up about 62% of all calls.
Mar peaks. Nov dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
229 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2024. $1.6M cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 30 | — | |
| 2022 | 45 | +50.0% | |
| 2023 | 51 | +13.3% | |
| 2024 | 53 | +3.9% | |
| 2025 | 50 | -5.7% |
For the 5 building fires Cresco departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 62 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 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 14 | 22.6% | |
| 2 | Wall assembly | 9 | 14.5% | |
| 3 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 8 | 12.9% | |
| 4 | Storage room, area, tank, or bin | 5 | 8.1% | |
| 5 | Cooking area, kitchen | 3 | 4.8% | |
| 6 | Operator/passenger area of transportation equip. | 3 | 4.8% | |
| 7 | Cargo/trunk area - all vehicles | 3 | 4.8% | |
| 8 | Outside area, other | 3 | 4.8% | |
| 9 | Entrance way, lobby | 1 | 1.6% | |
| 10 | Sales area, showroom (exclude display window) | 1 | 1.6% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 12 | 19.4% |
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 Cresco mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Arcing | 11 | 17.7% | |
| 2 | Hot ember or ash | 9 | 14.5% | |
| 3 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 7 | 11.3% | |
| 4 | Flying brand, ember, spark | 5 | 8.1% | |
| 5 | Undetermined | 5 | 8.1% | |
| 6 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 4 | 6.5% | |
| 7 | Heat from direct flame, convection currents | 4 | 6.5% | |
| 8 | Heat from other open flame or smoking materials | 3 | 4.8% | |
| 9 | Heat source: other | 2 | 3.2% | |
| 10 | Heat, spark from friction | 2 | 3.2% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 10 | 16.1% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Cresco departments in 2025. These 8 fires alone account for 98% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $225,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 2 | $100,000 | Off-road vehicle or heavy equipment fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $10,000 | Road freight or transport vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 4 | $5,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 5 | $5,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 6 | $3,500 | Brush, or brush and grass mixture fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 7 | $2,500 | Garbage dump or sanitary landfill fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 8 | $2,500 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Cresco sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 3,935 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2015 | Debris and open burning | 750 | 36.9 mi | |
| 2015 | Debris and open burning | 500 | 38.5 mi | |
| 2018 | Debris and open burning | 300 | 25.0 mi | |
| 2018 | Debris and open burning | 300 | 28.5 mi | |
| 2012 | Equipment and vehicle use | 195 | 48.7 mi | |
| 2012 | Equipment and vehicle use | 166 | 43.0 mi | |
| 2018 | Debris and open burning | 150 | 28.7 mi | |
| 2009 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 140 | 32.0 mi | |
| 1999 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 124 | 40.8 mi | |
| 2015 | Equipment and vehicle use | 120 | 49.7 mi | |
| 2010 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 100 | 16.8 mi | |
| 2010 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 100 | 18.2 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 Iowa cities with population within ±25% of Cresco. 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.