In 2025, fire departments serving Crystal responded to 134 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $203K building blaze. Here's the full picture.
Power line down lead by count. Building fires lead by dollars. Together the top five categories make up about 56% of all calls.
Jul peaks. Dec dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
730 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2022. $2.6M cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 163 | — | |
| 2022 | 178 | +9.2% | |
| 2023 | 158 | -11.2% | |
| 2024 | 97 | -38.6% | |
| 2025 | 134 | +38.1% |
For the 11 building fires Crystal departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 129 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 | Outside area, other | 19 | 14.7% | |
| 2 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 16 | 12.4% | |
| 3 | Cooking area, kitchen | 12 | 9.3% | |
| 4 | Chute/container - trash, rubbish, waste | 11 | 8.5% | |
| 5 | Operator/passenger area of transportation equip. | 10 | 7.8% | |
| 6 | Undetermined | 10 | 7.8% | |
| 7 | Wall surface: exterior | 7 | 5.4% | |
| 8 | Vehicle storage area; garage, carport | 6 | 4.7% | |
| 9 | Courtyard, patio, porch, terrace | 5 | 3.9% | |
| 10 | Bedroom - < 5 persons; included are jail or prison | 4 | 3.1% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 29 | 22.5% |
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 Crystal mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 49 | 38.0% | |
| 2 | Arcing | 10 | 7.8% | |
| 3 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 9 | 7.0% | |
| 4 | Fireworks | 8 | 6.2% | |
| 5 | Heat from direct flame, convection currents | 8 | 6.2% | |
| 6 | Chemical, natural heat source, other | 7 | 5.4% | |
| 7 | Chemical reaction | 6 | 4.7% | |
| 8 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 5 | 3.9% | |
| 9 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 4 | 3.1% | |
| 10 | Radiated heat from another fire | 4 | 3.1% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 19 | 14.7% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Crystal departments in 2025. These 8 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $202,590 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 2 | $193,500 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $25,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 4 | $15,300 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 5 | $2,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 6 | $2,000 | Dumpster or other outside trash receptacle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 7 | $1,000 | Electrical wiring/equipment problem, other | Significant | Investigated |
| 8 | $800 | Arcing, shorted electrical equipment | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Crystal sits below the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 18,229 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 | 22.1 mi | |
| 2009 | Arson/incendiarism | 2,550 | 21.0 mi | |
| 1996 | Debris and open burning | 1,299 | 33.0 mi | |
| 2004 | Recreation and ceremony | 1,000 | 16.1 mi | |
| 2000 | Smoking | 420 | 25.9 mi | |
| 2010 | Equipment and vehicle use | 336 | 18.1 mi | |
| 1995 | Debris and open burning | 320 | 37.5 mi | |
| 1999 | Railroad operations and maintenance | 306 | 16.1 mi | |
| 2010 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 280 | 39.8 mi | |
| 2005 | Debris and open burning | 260 | 36.3 mi | |
| 2004 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 250 | 11.0 mi | |
| 2007 | Recreation and ceremony | 248 | 24.9 mi |
Top 5 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 Crystal. 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.