In 2025, fire departments serving Eveleth responded to 99 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $200K 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 72% of all calls.
May peaks. Nov dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
460 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2023. $3.2M cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 71 | — | |
| 2022 | 96 | +35.2% | |
| 2023 | 117 | +21.9% | |
| 2024 | 77 | -34.2% | |
| 2025 | 99 | +28.6% |
For the 27 building fires Eveleth departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 57 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 | 26 | 45.6% | |
| 2 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 4 | 7.0% | |
| 3 | Common room, den, family room, living room, lounge | 3 | 5.3% | |
| 4 | Bedroom - < 5 persons; included are jail or prison | 3 | 5.3% | |
| 5 | Cooking area, kitchen | 3 | 5.3% | |
| 6 | Vehicle storage area; garage, carport | 3 | 5.3% | |
| 7 | Chute/container - trash, rubbish, waste | 2 | 3.5% | |
| 8 | Substructure area or space, crawl space | 2 | 3.5% | |
| 9 | Attic: vacant, crawl space above top story, cupola | 2 | 3.5% | |
| 10 | Fuel tank, fuel line | 2 | 3.5% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 7 | 12.3% |
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 Eveleth mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 35 | 61.4% | |
| 2 | Heat source: other | 3 | 5.3% | |
| 3 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 3 | 5.3% | |
| 4 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 3 | 5.3% | |
| 5 | Arcing | 3 | 5.3% | |
| 6 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 2 | 3.5% | |
| 7 | Candle | 2 | 3.5% | |
| 8 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 1 | 1.8% | |
| 9 | Heat, spark from friction | 1 | 1.8% | |
| 10 | Molten, hot material | 1 | 1.8% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 3 | 5.3% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Eveleth departments in 2025. These 7 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $200,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 2 | $100,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $50,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 4 | $50,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 5 | $2,500 | Off-road vehicle or heavy equipment fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 6 | $1,800 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 7 | $100 | Off-road vehicle or heavy equipment fire | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Eveleth sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 15,552 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1992 | Arson/incendiarism | 5,200 | 19.0 mi | |
| 1992 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 2,200 | 15.4 mi | |
| 2016 | Railroad operations and maintenance | 973 | 21.2 mi | |
| 2000 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 953 | 36.1 mi | |
| 1998 | Railroad operations and maintenance | 950 | 14.7 mi | |
| 2016 | Debris and open burning | 936 | 36.8 mi | |
| 2003 | Railroad operations and maintenance | 732 | 11.1 mi | |
| 2010 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 517 | 30.9 mi | |
| 2010 | Equipment and vehicle use | 340 | 23.7 mi | |
| 2010 | Equipment and vehicle use | 270 | 24.5 mi | |
| 1992 | Debris and open burning | 250 | 43.6 mi | |
| 2016 | Recreation and ceremony | 250 | 18.2 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 | 55734 | 460 |
Six Minnesota cities with population within ±25% of Eveleth. 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.