In 2025, fire departments serving Glidden responded to 11 fire and hazmat incidents . Here's the full picture.
Grass fire lead by count. Building fires lead by dollars. Together the top five categories make up about 64% of all calls.
Apr peaks. Jun dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
81 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2022. $101 cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 14 | — | |
| 2022 | 22 | +57.1% | |
| 2023 | 15 | -31.8% | |
| 2024 | 19 | +26.7% | |
| 2025 | 11 | -42.1% |
For the 0 building fires Glidden departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 20 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 | Undetermined | 7 | 35.0% | |
| 2 | Structural area, other | 2 | 10.0% | |
| 3 | Highway, parking lot, street: on or near | 2 | 10.0% | |
| 4 | Other | 1 | 5.0% | |
| 5 | Dining room, cafeteria bar area, beverage service | 1 | 5.0% | |
| 6 | Storage area, other | 1 | 5.0% | |
| 7 | Equipment or service area, other | 1 | 5.0% | |
| 8 | Cargo/trunk area - all vehicles | 1 | 5.0% | |
| 9 | Outside area, other | 1 | 5.0% | |
| 10 | Railroad right of way: on or near | 1 | 5.0% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 2 | 10.0% |
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 Glidden mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 8 | 40.0% | |
| 2 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 3 | 15.0% | |
| 3 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 3 | 15.0% | |
| 4 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 2 | 10.0% | |
| 5 | Heat source: other | 1 | 5.0% | |
| 6 | Hot ember or ash | 1 | 5.0% | |
| 7 | Heat from other open flame or smoking materials | 1 | 5.0% | |
| 8 | Match | 1 | 5.0% |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Glidden sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 3,623 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2014 | Debris and open burning | 600 | 41.0 mi | |
| 2014 | Debris and open burning | 340 | 32.7 mi | |
| 2019 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 328 | 9.6 mi | |
| 2011 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 300 | 45.2 mi | |
| 2011 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 220 | 47.5 mi | |
| 2014 | Equipment and vehicle use | 130 | 31.7 mi | |
| 2013 | Debris and open burning | 120 | 31.9 mi | |
| 2015 | Equipment and vehicle use | 120 | 42.8 mi | |
| 2009 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 115 | 41.4 mi | |
| 2009 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 105 | 34.1 mi | |
| 2012 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 100 | 33.4 mi | |
| 2014 | Equipment and vehicle use | 100 | 41.1 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 | 51443 | 81 |
Six Iowa cities with population within ±25% of Glidden. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
1 departments report to NFIRS for incidents in Glidden.
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.