In 2025, fire departments serving Fairmont responded to 47 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $500K 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.
Mar peaks. Jul dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
200 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2025. $3.0M cumulative property loss. 1 civilian deaths.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 45 | — | |
| 2022 | 46 | +2.2% | |
| 2023 | 28 | -39.1% | |
| 2024 | 34 | +21.4% | |
| 2025 | 47 | +38.2% |
For the 11 building fires Fairmont departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 76 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 | 17 | 22.4% | |
| 2 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 10 | 13.2% | |
| 3 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 9 | 11.8% | |
| 4 | Cooking area, kitchen | 4 | 5.3% | |
| 5 | Vehicle storage area; garage, carport | 4 | 5.3% | |
| 6 | Other | 3 | 3.9% | |
| 7 | Roof surface: exterior | 3 | 3.9% | |
| 8 | Outside area, other | 3 | 3.9% | |
| 9 | Common room, den, family room, living room, lounge | 2 | 2.6% | |
| 10 | Heating room or area, water heater area | 2 | 2.6% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 19 | 25.0% |
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 Fairmont mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 30 | 39.5% | |
| 2 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 10 | 13.2% | |
| 3 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 9 | 11.8% | |
| 4 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 4 | 5.3% | |
| 5 | Arcing | 4 | 5.3% | |
| 6 | Hot ember or ash | 4 | 5.3% | |
| 7 | Heat source: other | 3 | 3.9% | |
| 8 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 3 | 3.9% | |
| 9 | Heat, spark from friction | 2 | 2.6% | |
| 10 | Cigarette | 2 | 2.6% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 5 | 6.6% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Fairmont departments in 2025. These 8 fires alone account for 99% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $500,000 | Building fires | Major | Investigated |
| 2 | $250,000 | Building fires | Major | Investigated |
| 3 | $90,000 | Road freight or transport vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 4 | $75,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 5 | $25,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 6 | $15,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 7 | $10,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 8 | $5,000 | Fire in portable building, fixed location | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Fairmont sits below the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 3,735 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 | 39.5 mi | |
| 2009 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 401 | 30.8 mi | |
| 2015 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 226 | 33.8 mi | |
| 2011 | Debris and open burning | 215 | 38.2 mi | |
| 2019 | Debris and open burning | 200 | 48.4 mi | |
| 2020 | Debris and open burning | 200 | 27.8 mi | |
| 2010 | Debris and open burning | 155 | 42.0 mi | |
| 2004 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 152 | 31.2 mi | |
| 2003 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 150 | 41.0 mi | |
| 2012 | Smoking | 145 | 47.3 mi | |
| 2000 | Debris and open burning | 127 | 33.1 mi | |
| 2011 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 100 | 47.7 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 | 56031 | 200 |
Six Minnesota cities with population within ±25% of Fairmont. 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.