In 2025, fire departments serving Fosston responded to 25 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $250K 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 52% of all calls.
Oct peaks. Dec dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
104 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2025. $1.1M cumulative property loss. 1 civilian deaths.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 20 | — | |
| 2022 | 19 | -5.0% | |
| 2023 | 19 | +0.0% | |
| 2024 | 21 | +10.5% | |
| 2025 | 25 | +19.0% |
For the 3 building fires Fosston departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 37 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 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 11 | 29.7% | |
| 2 | Vehicle area, other | 3 | 8.1% | |
| 3 | Common room, den, family room, living room, lounge | 2 | 5.4% | |
| 4 | Bedroom - < 5 persons; included are jail or prison | 2 | 5.4% | |
| 5 | Vehicle storage area; garage, carport | 2 | 5.4% | |
| 6 | Substructure area or space, crawl space | 2 | 5.4% | |
| 7 | Attic: vacant, crawl space above top story, cupola | 2 | 5.4% | |
| 8 | Undetermined | 2 | 5.4% | |
| 9 | Cooking area, kitchen | 1 | 2.7% | |
| 10 | Processing/manufacturing area, workroom | 1 | 2.7% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 9 | 24.3% |
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 Fosston mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 7 | 18.9% | |
| 2 | Heat, spark from friction | 7 | 18.9% | |
| 3 | Undetermined | 7 | 18.9% | |
| 4 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 2 | 5.4% | |
| 5 | Cigarette | 2 | 5.4% | |
| 6 | Radiated heat from another fire | 2 | 5.4% | |
| 7 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 1 | 2.7% | |
| 8 | Arcing | 1 | 2.7% | |
| 9 | Molten, hot material | 1 | 2.7% | |
| 10 | Fireworks | 1 | 2.7% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 6 | 16.2% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Fosston departments in 2025. These 6 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $250,000 | Off-road vehicle or heavy equipment fire | Major | Investigated |
| 2 | $65,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $10,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 4 | $4,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 5 | $3,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 6 | $2,000 | Off-road vehicle or heavy equipment fire | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Fosston sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 163,828 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2003 | Debris and open burning | 38,753 | 38.6 mi | |
| 2003 | Debris and open burning | 19,782 | 34.8 mi | |
| 2001 | Arson/incendiarism | 13,820 | 37.4 mi | |
| 1994 | Arson/incendiarism | 11,420 | 39.7 mi | |
| 2002 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 8,480 | 25.2 mi | |
| 2002 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 7,455 | 30.9 mi | |
| 1998 | Debris and open burning | 6,000 | 42.4 mi | |
| 2007 | Debris and open burning | 5,157 | 42.0 mi | |
| 2000 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 5,120 | 28.9 mi | |
| 2013 | Arson/incendiarism | 4,900 | 38.5 mi | |
| 2007 | Debris and open burning | 4,700 | 42.5 mi | |
| 1994 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 4,200 | 27.9 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 | 56542 | 104 |
Six Minnesota cities with population within ±25% of Fosston. 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.