In 2025, fire departments serving Hawarden responded to 30 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $30K building blaze. Here's the full picture.
Fire, other lead by count. Building fires lead by dollars. Together the top five categories make up about 87% of all calls.
Apr peaks. Jul dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
113 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2025. $365K cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 15 | — | |
| 2022 | 28 | +86.7% | |
| 2023 | 17 | -39.3% | |
| 2024 | 23 | +35.3% | |
| 2025 | 30 | +30.4% |
For the 2 building fires Hawarden departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 40 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 | 10 | 25.0% | |
| 2 | Undetermined | 10 | 25.0% | |
| 3 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 4 | 10.0% | |
| 4 | Outside area, other | 4 | 10.0% | |
| 5 | Vehicle area, other | 3 | 7.5% | |
| 6 | Cooking area, kitchen | 2 | 5.0% | |
| 7 | Wall surface: exterior | 2 | 5.0% | |
| 8 | Entrance way, lobby | 1 | 2.5% | |
| 9 | Bathroom, checkroom, lavatory, locker room | 1 | 2.5% | |
| 10 | Technical processing areas, other | 1 | 2.5% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 2 | 5.0% |
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 Hawarden mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 25 | 62.5% | |
| 2 | Hot ember or ash | 5 | 12.5% | |
| 3 | Arcing | 2 | 5.0% | |
| 4 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 1 | 2.5% | |
| 5 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 1 | 2.5% | |
| 6 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 1 | 2.5% | |
| 7 | Heat, spark from friction | 1 | 2.5% | |
| 8 | Molten, hot material | 1 | 2.5% | |
| 9 | Explosive, fireworks, other | 1 | 2.5% | |
| 10 | Chemical reaction | 1 | 2.5% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 1 | 2.5% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Hawarden departments in 2025. These 4 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $30,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 2 | $20,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $5,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 4 | $1,500 | Off-road vehicle or heavy equipment fire | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Hawarden sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 12,224 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 2,000 | 12.5 mi | |
| 2000 | Smoking | 1,500 | 42.3 mi | |
| 1999 | Debris and open burning | 1,400 | 31.0 mi | |
| 2014 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 1,200 | 32.5 mi | |
| 2020 | Equipment and vehicle use | 800 | 46.5 mi | |
| 2009 | Power generation/transmission/distribution | 600 | 43.9 mi | |
| 2008 | Debris and open burning | 560 | 44.1 mi | |
| 2009 | Power generation/transmission/distribution | 550 | 43.9 mi | |
| 2006 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 350 | 16.8 mi | |
| 2000 | Debris and open burning | 300 | 8.6 mi | |
| 2020 | Railroad operations and maintenance | 250 | 9.1 mi | |
| 1999 | Equipment and vehicle use | 250 | 40.6 mi |
Top 2 ZIP codes by NFIRS incident count across 2021–2025. Each ZIP has its own fire profile — dive in for neighborhood-level context.
Six Iowa cities with population within ±25% of Hawarden. 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.