In 2025, fire departments serving Foley responded to 53 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $45K building blaze. Here's the full picture.
Gas leak (natural gas or LPG) lead by count. Building fires lead by dollars. Together the top five categories make up about 68% of all calls.
Apr peaks. Jul dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
199 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2025. $1.7M cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 40 | — | |
| 2022 | 34 | -15.0% | |
| 2023 | 41 | +20.6% | |
| 2024 | 31 | -24.4% | |
| 2025 | 53 | +71.0% |
For the 6 building fires Foley departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 110 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 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 41 | 37.3% | |
| 2 | Undetermined | 22 | 20.0% | |
| 3 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 19 | 17.3% | |
| 4 | Highway, parking lot, street: on or near | 5 | 4.5% | |
| 5 | Outside area, other | 4 | 3.6% | |
| 6 | Other | 3 | 2.7% | |
| 7 | Bedroom - < 5 persons; included are jail or prison | 2 | 1.8% | |
| 8 | Laundry area, wash house (laundry) | 2 | 1.8% | |
| 9 | Vehicle storage area; garage, carport | 2 | 1.8% | |
| 10 | Processing/manufacturing area, workroom | 1 | 0.9% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 9 | 8.2% |
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 Foley mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 76 | 69.1% | |
| 2 | Hot ember or ash | 13 | 11.8% | |
| 3 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 4 | 3.6% | |
| 4 | Lightning | 4 | 3.6% | |
| 5 | Heat from direct flame, convection currents | 4 | 3.6% | |
| 6 | Arcing | 3 | 2.7% | |
| 7 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 2 | 1.8% | |
| 8 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 1 | 0.9% | |
| 9 | Heat, spark from friction | 1 | 0.9% | |
| 10 | Blasting agent | 1 | 0.9% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 1 | 0.9% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Foley departments in 2025. These 8 fires alone account for 81% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $45,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 2 | $40,000 | Off-road vehicle or heavy equipment fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $35,000 | Off-road vehicle or heavy equipment fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 4 | $25,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 5 | $25,000 | Off-road vehicle or heavy equipment fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 6 | $25,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 7 | $20,000 | Off-road vehicle or heavy equipment fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 8 | $20,000 | Off-road vehicle or heavy equipment fire | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Foley sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 28,398 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 | 44.8 mi | |
| 2009 | Arson/incendiarism | 2,550 | 46.5 mi | |
| 1992 | Debris and open burning | 1,737 | 15.1 mi | |
| 1996 | Recreation and ceremony | 1,460 | 30.0 mi | |
| 1996 | Debris and open burning | 1,299 | 18.2 mi | |
| 2002 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 1,260 | 48.0 mi | |
| 2003 | Arson/incendiarism | 1,250 | 18.3 mi | |
| 2004 | Railroad operations and maintenance | 835 | 38.7 mi | |
| 1992 | Arson/incendiarism | 830 | 23.9 mi | |
| 1998 | Arson/incendiarism | 750 | 24.4 mi | |
| 2004 | Debris and open burning | 710 | 15.9 mi | |
| 1993 | Arson/incendiarism | 680 | 17.7 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 Foley. 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.