In 2025, fire departments serving Fulda responded to 16 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $5K building blaze. Here's the full picture.
Grass fire lead by count. Building fires lead by dollars. Together the top five categories make up about 81% of all calls.
Oct peaks. Jun dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
64 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2025. $419K cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 11 | — | |
| 2022 | 11 | +0.0% | |
| 2023 | 12 | +9.1% | |
| 2024 | 14 | +16.7% | |
| 2025 | 16 | +14.3% |
For the 3 building fires Fulda departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 25 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 | 5 | 20.0% | |
| 2 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 4 | 16.0% | |
| 3 | Equipment or service area, other | 2 | 8.0% | |
| 4 | Vehicle area, other | 2 | 8.0% | |
| 5 | Outside area, other | 2 | 8.0% | |
| 6 | Vacant structural area | 2 | 8.0% | |
| 7 | Other | 1 | 4.0% | |
| 8 | Entrance way, lobby | 1 | 4.0% | |
| 9 | Vehicle storage area; garage, carport | 1 | 4.0% | |
| 10 | Maintenance shop or area, paint shop or area | 1 | 4.0% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 4 | 16.0% |
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 Fulda mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 5 | 20.0% | |
| 2 | Heat source: other | 3 | 12.0% | |
| 3 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 3 | 12.0% | |
| 4 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 2 | 8.0% | |
| 5 | Hot ember or ash | 2 | 8.0% | |
| 6 | Match | 2 | 8.0% | |
| 7 | Arcing | 1 | 4.0% | |
| 8 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 1 | 4.0% | |
| 9 | Heat, spark from friction | 1 | 4.0% | |
| 10 | Heat from other open flame or smoking materials | 1 | 4.0% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 4 | 16.0% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Fulda departments in 2025. These 4 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $5,000 | Off-road vehicle or heavy equipment fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 2 | $5,000 | Off-road vehicle or heavy equipment fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $3,500 | Cultivated grain or crop fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 4 | $1,200 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Fulda sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 2,741 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2015 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 226 | 43.6 mi | |
| 2011 | Debris and open burning | 215 | 36.0 mi | |
| 2019 | Debris and open burning | 200 | 48.0 mi | |
| 2004 | Arson/incendiarism | 200 | 39.9 mi | |
| 2011 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 160 | 49.1 mi | |
| 2010 | Debris and open burning | 155 | 41.3 mi | |
| 2004 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 152 | 29.0 mi | |
| 2000 | Debris and open burning | 127 | 26.7 mi | |
| 2014 | Debris and open burning | 123 | 30.9 mi | |
| 2011 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 100 | 35.8 mi | |
| 2000 | Debris and open burning | 96 | 25.9 mi | |
| 1994 | Debris and open burning | 95 | 20.5 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 | 56131 | 64 |
Six Minnesota cities with population within ±25% of Fulda. 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.