In 2025, fire departments serving Decorah responded to 62 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $150K 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 68% of all calls.
Apr peaks. Jul dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
220 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2025. $1.5M cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 33 | — | |
| 2022 | 46 | +39.4% | |
| 2023 | 41 | -10.9% | |
| 2024 | 38 | -7.3% | |
| 2025 | 62 | +63.2% |
For the 8 building fires Decorah departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 56 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 | 10 | 17.9% | |
| 2 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 9 | 16.1% | |
| 3 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 8 | 14.3% | |
| 4 | Other | 5 | 8.9% | |
| 5 | Outside area, other | 4 | 7.1% | |
| 6 | Common room, den, family room, living room, lounge | 2 | 3.6% | |
| 7 | Bedroom - < 5 persons; included are jail or prison | 2 | 3.6% | |
| 8 | Wall assembly | 2 | 3.6% | |
| 9 | Cooking area, kitchen | 1 | 1.8% | |
| 10 | Laundry area, wash house (laundry) | 1 | 1.8% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 12 | 21.4% |
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 Decorah mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 23 | 41.1% | |
| 2 | Heat source: other | 6 | 10.7% | |
| 3 | Hot ember or ash | 6 | 10.7% | |
| 4 | Flying brand, ember, spark | 5 | 8.9% | |
| 5 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 2 | 3.6% | |
| 6 | Arcing | 2 | 3.6% | |
| 7 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 2 | 3.6% | |
| 8 | Heat from other open flame or smoking materials | 2 | 3.6% | |
| 9 | Lightning | 2 | 3.6% | |
| 10 | Heat from direct flame, convection currents | 2 | 3.6% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 4 | 7.1% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Decorah departments in 2025. These 8 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $150,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 2 | $75,000 | Outside equipment fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $30,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 4 | $10,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 5 | $3,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 6 | $2,000 | Off-road vehicle or heavy equipment fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 7 | $1,000 | Outside rubbish, trash or waste fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 8 | $500 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Decorah sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 4,024 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 | 44.3 mi | |
| 2015 | Debris and open burning | 500 | 46.0 mi | |
| 2018 | Debris and open burning | 300 | 7.6 mi | |
| 2018 | Debris and open burning | 300 | 11.3 mi | |
| 2012 | Equipment and vehicle use | 195 | 38.7 mi | |
| 2015 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 189 | 47.1 mi | |
| 2012 | Equipment and vehicle use | 166 | 29.1 mi | |
| 2018 | Debris and open burning | 150 | 41.2 mi | |
| 2009 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 140 | 22.2 mi | |
| 1999 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 124 | 28.0 mi | |
| 2015 | Equipment and vehicle use | 120 | 45.5 mi | |
| 2010 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 100 | 9.0 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 | 52101 | 220 |
Six Iowa cities with population within ±25% of Decorah. 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.