In 2025, fire departments serving Forest City responded to 27 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $40K 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 74% of all calls.
Mar peaks. Dec dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
120 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2024. $362K cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 24 | — | |
| 2022 | 19 | -20.8% | |
| 2023 | 23 | +21.1% | |
| 2024 | 27 | +17.4% | |
| 2025 | 27 | +0.0% |
For the 9 building fires Forest City departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 50 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 | 14 | 28.0% | |
| 2 | Undetermined | 7 | 14.0% | |
| 3 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 6 | 12.0% | |
| 4 | Vehicle storage area; garage, carport | 3 | 6.0% | |
| 5 | Equipment or service area, other | 3 | 6.0% | |
| 6 | Outside area, other | 3 | 6.0% | |
| 7 | Cooking area, kitchen | 2 | 4.0% | |
| 8 | Attic: vacant, crawl space above top story, cupola | 2 | 4.0% | |
| 9 | Wall assembly | 2 | 4.0% | |
| 10 | Other | 1 | 2.0% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 7 | 14.0% |
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 Forest City mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 13 | 26.0% | |
| 2 | Arcing | 8 | 16.0% | |
| 3 | Hot ember or ash | 6 | 12.0% | |
| 4 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 5 | 10.0% | |
| 5 | Flying brand, ember, spark | 4 | 8.0% | |
| 6 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 2 | 4.0% | |
| 7 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 2 | 4.0% | |
| 8 | Heat, spark from friction | 2 | 4.0% | |
| 9 | Cigarette | 2 | 4.0% | |
| 10 | Heat source: other | 1 | 2.0% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 5 | 10.0% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Forest City departments in 2025. These 8 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $40,000 | Fire in motor home, camper, recreational vehicle | Significant | Investigated |
| 2 | $30,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $5,000 | Off-road vehicle or heavy equipment fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 4 | $1,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 5 | $1,000 | Fire in portable building, fixed location | Significant | Investigated |
| 6 | $1,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 7 | $1,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 8 | $1,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Forest City sits below the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 1,740 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2009 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 401 | 42.8 mi | |
| 2012 | Debris and open burning | 200 | 19.1 mi | |
| 2000 | Debris and open burning | 177 | 33.3 mi | |
| 2006 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 120 | 24.2 mi | |
| 2012 | Debris and open burning | 80 | 45.5 mi | |
| 2011 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 80 | 44.1 mi | |
| 2009 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 60 | 29.1 mi | |
| 2006 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 55 | 40.0 mi | |
| 2007 | Debris and open burning | 50 | 27.4 mi | |
| 2006 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 50 | 12.6 mi | |
| 2009 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 40 | 46.8 mi | |
| 2017 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 39 | 24.2 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 | 50436 | 120 |
Six Iowa cities with population within ±25% of Forest City. 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.