In 2025, fire departments serving Grand Meadow responded to 13 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $100K 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 62% of all calls.
Apr peaks. Jan dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
67 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2022. $354K cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 13 | — | |
| 2022 | 19 | +46.2% | |
| 2023 | 11 | -42.1% | |
| 2024 | 11 | +0.0% | |
| 2025 | 13 | +18.2% |
For the 2 building fires Grand Meadow departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 33 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 | 21.2% | |
| 2 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 3 | 9.1% | |
| 3 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 3 | 9.1% | |
| 4 | Bedroom - < 5 persons; included are jail or prison | 2 | 6.1% | |
| 5 | Storage: supplies or tools; dead storage | 2 | 6.1% | |
| 6 | Cargo/trunk area - all vehicles | 2 | 6.1% | |
| 7 | Outside area, other | 2 | 6.1% | |
| 8 | Multiple areas | 2 | 6.1% | |
| 9 | Other | 1 | 3.0% | |
| 10 | Entrance way, lobby | 1 | 3.0% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 8 | 24.2% |
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 Grand Meadow mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 19 | 57.6% | |
| 2 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 3 | 9.1% | |
| 3 | Hot ember or ash | 3 | 9.1% | |
| 4 | Arcing | 2 | 6.1% | |
| 5 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 2 | 6.1% | |
| 6 | Cigarette lighter | 2 | 6.1% | |
| 7 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 1 | 3.0% | |
| 8 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 1 | 3.0% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Grand Meadow departments in 2025. These 3 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $100,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 2 | $3,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $1,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Grand Meadow sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 2,165 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1998 | Arson/incendiarism | 295 | 49.8 mi | |
| 2012 | Debris and open burning | 200 | 45.1 mi | |
| 2000 | Debris and open burning | 177 | 41.8 mi | |
| 2018 | Debris and open burning | 150 | 41.1 mi | |
| 2006 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 120 | 37.6 mi | |
| 2010 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 100 | 49.3 mi | |
| 2009 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 85 | 45.0 mi | |
| 2011 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 80 | 20.1 mi | |
| 2009 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 80 | 46.7 mi | |
| 2020 | Debris and open burning | 65 | 48.5 mi | |
| 2020 | Equipment and vehicle use | 65 | 30.3 mi | |
| 2008 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 60 | 17.0 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 | 55936 | 67 |
Six Minnesota cities with population within ±25% of Grand Meadow. 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.