In 2025, fire departments serving Falcon Heights responded to 34 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $10K building blaze. Here's the full picture.
Cooking fire, confined to container lead by count. Building fires lead by dollars. Together the top five categories make up about 62% of all calls.
May peaks. Feb dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
156 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2024. $32K cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 25 | — | |
| 2022 | 29 | +16.0% | |
| 2023 | 29 | +0.0% | |
| 2024 | 39 | +34.5% | |
| 2025 | 34 | -12.8% |
For the 2 building fires Falcon Heights departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 22 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 | 36.4% | |
| 2 | Chute/container - trash, rubbish, waste | 4 | 18.2% | |
| 3 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 3 | 13.6% | |
| 4 | Wall surface: exterior | 2 | 9.1% | |
| 5 | Laundry area, wash house (laundry) | 1 | 4.5% | |
| 6 | Technical processing areas, other | 1 | 4.5% | |
| 7 | Roof surface: exterior | 1 | 4.5% | |
| 8 | Operator/passenger area of transportation equip. | 1 | 4.5% | |
| 9 | Highway, parking lot, street: on or near | 1 | 4.5% |
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 Falcon Heights mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Heat from other open flame or smoking materials | 5 | 22.7% | |
| 2 | Cigarette | 5 | 22.7% | |
| 3 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 3 | 13.6% | |
| 4 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 1 | 4.5% | |
| 5 | Arcing | 1 | 4.5% | |
| 6 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 1 | 4.5% | |
| 7 | Heat, spark from friction | 1 | 4.5% | |
| 8 | Fireworks | 1 | 4.5% | |
| 9 | Flame/torch used for lighting | 1 | 4.5% | |
| 10 | Lightning | 1 | 4.5% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 2 | 9.1% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Falcon Heights departments in 2025. These 4 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $10,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 2 | $5,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $2,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 4 | $100 | Dumpster or other outside trash receptacle fire | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Falcon Heights sits below the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 18,147 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | Debris and open burning | 8,513 | 22.5 mi | |
| 2009 | Arson/incendiarism | 2,550 | 20.8 mi | |
| 1996 | Debris and open burning | 1,299 | 40.4 mi | |
| 2004 | Recreation and ceremony | 1,000 | 11.6 mi | |
| 2000 | Smoking | 420 | 27.4 mi | |
| 2010 | Equipment and vehicle use | 336 | 21.5 mi | |
| 1995 | Debris and open burning | 320 | 45.4 mi | |
| 1999 | Railroad operations and maintenance | 306 | 19.9 mi | |
| 2010 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 280 | 46.7 mi | |
| 2005 | Debris and open burning | 260 | 27.6 mi | |
| 2004 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 250 | 11.5 mi | |
| 2007 | Recreation and ceremony | 248 | 24.6 mi |
Top 2 ZIP codes by NFIRS incident count across 2021–2025. Each ZIP has its own fire profile — dive in for neighborhood-level context.
Six Minnesota cities with population within ±25% of Falcon Heights. 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.