In 2025, fire departments serving Estherville responded to 49 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $141K building blaze. Here's the full picture.
Building fires lead by count. Building fires lead by dollars. Together the top five categories make up about 73% of all calls.
Jan peaks. Sep dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
191 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2025. $742K cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 30 | — | |
| 2022 | 42 | +40.0% | |
| 2023 | 41 | -2.4% | |
| 2024 | 29 | -29.3% | |
| 2025 | 49 | +69.0% |
For the 10 building fires Estherville departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 47 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 | 8 | 17.0% | |
| 2 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 6 | 12.8% | |
| 3 | Cooking area, kitchen | 5 | 10.6% | |
| 4 | Undetermined | 5 | 10.6% | |
| 5 | Equipment or service area, other | 3 | 6.4% | |
| 6 | Bedroom - < 5 persons; included are jail or prison | 2 | 4.3% | |
| 7 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 2 | 4.3% | |
| 8 | Wildland, woods | 2 | 4.3% | |
| 9 | Corridor, mall | 1 | 2.1% | |
| 10 | Entrance way, lobby | 1 | 2.1% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 12 | 25.5% |
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 Estherville mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 9 | 19.1% | |
| 2 | Undetermined | 7 | 14.9% | |
| 3 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 6 | 12.8% | |
| 4 | Arcing | 5 | 10.6% | |
| 5 | Hot ember or ash | 3 | 6.4% | |
| 6 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 2 | 4.3% | |
| 7 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 2 | 4.3% | |
| 8 | Cigarette | 2 | 4.3% | |
| 9 | Match | 2 | 4.3% | |
| 10 | Heat source: other | 1 | 2.1% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 8 | 17.0% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Estherville departments in 2025. These 8 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $140,500 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 2 | $30,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $12,000 | Off-road vehicle or heavy equipment fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 4 | $10,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 5 | $5,000 | Cooking fire, confined to container | Significant | Investigated |
| 6 | $4,500 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 7 | $1,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 8 | $600 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Estherville sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 3,666 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2015 | Equipment and vehicle use | 700 | 16.0 mi | |
| 2009 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 401 | 22.5 mi | |
| 2015 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 226 | 10.2 mi | |
| 2011 | Debris and open burning | 215 | 17.5 mi | |
| 2019 | Debris and open burning | 200 | 23.5 mi | |
| 2020 | Debris and open burning | 200 | 8.2 mi | |
| 2010 | Debris and open burning | 155 | 18.4 mi | |
| 2004 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 152 | 23.0 mi | |
| 2012 | Smoking | 145 | 22.5 mi | |
| 2000 | Debris and open burning | 127 | 32.5 mi | |
| 2011 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 100 | 25.6 mi | |
| 2012 | Natural | 100 | 15.4 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 | 51334 | 191 |
Six Iowa cities with population within ±25% of Estherville. 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.