In 2025, fire departments serving Esko responded to 25 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $100K building blaze. Here's the full picture.
Carbon monoxide incident lead by count. Building fires lead by dollars. Together the top five categories make up about 72% of all calls.
Jan peaks. Feb dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
158 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2023. $1.0M cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 28 | — | |
| 2022 | 37 | +32.1% | |
| 2023 | 38 | +2.7% | |
| 2024 | 30 | -21.1% | |
| 2025 | 25 | -16.7% |
For the 3 building fires Esko departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 28 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 | 35.7% | |
| 2 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 3 | 10.7% | |
| 3 | Cooking area, kitchen | 2 | 7.1% | |
| 4 | Storage area, other | 2 | 7.1% | |
| 5 | Vehicle storage area; garage, carport | 2 | 7.1% | |
| 6 | Outside area, other | 2 | 7.1% | |
| 7 | Corridor, mall | 1 | 3.6% | |
| 8 | Structural area, other | 1 | 3.6% | |
| 9 | Substructure area or space, crawl space | 1 | 3.6% | |
| 10 | Attic: vacant, crawl space above top story, cupola | 1 | 3.6% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 3 | 10.7% |
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 Esko mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 15 | 53.6% | |
| 2 | Arcing | 3 | 10.7% | |
| 3 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 2 | 7.1% | |
| 4 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 2 | 7.1% | |
| 5 | Heat source: other | 1 | 3.6% | |
| 6 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 1 | 3.6% | |
| 7 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 1 | 3.6% | |
| 8 | Heat, spark from friction | 1 | 3.6% | |
| 9 | Heat from other open flame or smoking materials | 1 | 3.6% | |
| 10 | Cigarette | 1 | 3.6% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Esko departments in 2025. These 4 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $100,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 2 | $25,000 | Fires in structures other than in a building | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $6,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 4 | $3,000 | Mobile property (vehicle) fire, other | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Esko sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 19,979 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2013 | Equipment and vehicle use | 7,499 | 44.9 mi | |
| 2015 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 3,200 | 42.6 mi | |
| 2000 | Debris and open burning | 1,350 | 49.1 mi | |
| 1998 | Railroad operations and maintenance | 950 | 39.2 mi | |
| 1997 | Arson/incendiarism | 930 | 44.1 mi | |
| 2003 | Railroad operations and maintenance | 732 | 42.7 mi | |
| 1999 | Equipment and vehicle use | 700 | 49.9 mi | |
| 2010 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 517 | 43.0 mi | |
| 2007 | Equipment and vehicle use | 487 | 14.6 mi | |
| 1993 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 410 | 38.4 mi | |
| 2000 | Debris and open burning | 350 | 34.4 mi | |
| 2000 | Debris and open burning | 275 | 43.1 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 | 55733 | 158 |
Six Minnesota cities with population within ±25% of Esko. 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.