In 2025, fire departments serving Hibbing responded to 142 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $10K 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 53% of all calls.
Jul peaks. Mar dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
734 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2024. $4.3M cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 117 | — | |
| 2022 | 162 | +38.5% | |
| 2023 | 140 | -13.6% | |
| 2024 | 173 | +23.6% | |
| 2025 | 142 | -17.9% |
For the 23 building fires Hibbing departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 170 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 | 33 | 19.4% | |
| 2 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 21 | 12.4% | |
| 3 | Outside area, other | 16 | 9.4% | |
| 4 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 12 | 7.1% | |
| 5 | Cooking area, kitchen | 11 | 6.5% | |
| 6 | Wildland, woods | 11 | 6.5% | |
| 7 | Bedroom - < 5 persons; included are jail or prison | 8 | 4.7% | |
| 8 | Vehicle storage area; garage, carport | 7 | 4.1% | |
| 9 | Vehicle area, other | 6 | 3.5% | |
| 10 | Wall surface: exterior | 5 | 2.9% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 40 | 23.5% |
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 Hibbing mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 98 | 57.6% | |
| 2 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 10 | 5.9% | |
| 3 | Arcing | 9 | 5.3% | |
| 4 | Cigarette lighter | 8 | 4.7% | |
| 5 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 7 | 4.1% | |
| 6 | Heat source: other | 6 | 3.5% | |
| 7 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 6 | 3.5% | |
| 8 | Heat from direct flame, convection currents | 4 | 2.4% | |
| 9 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 3 | 1.8% | |
| 10 | Hot ember or ash | 3 | 1.8% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 16 | 9.4% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Hibbing departments in 2025. These 7 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $10,483 | Off-road vehicle or heavy equipment fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 2 | $5,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $5,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 4 | $5,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 5 | $3,000 | Mobile property (vehicle) fire, other | Significant | Investigated |
| 6 | $2,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 7 | $1 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Hibbing sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 19,409 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1992 | Arson/incendiarism | 5,200 | 35.4 mi | |
| 1992 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 2,200 | 32.0 mi | |
| 2009 | Arson/incendiarism | 1,150 | 46.7 mi | |
| 2016 | Railroad operations and maintenance | 973 | 40.6 mi | |
| 2000 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 953 | 44.1 mi | |
| 1998 | Railroad operations and maintenance | 950 | 19.0 mi | |
| 2012 | Arson/incendiarism | 850 | 48.4 mi | |
| 2003 | Railroad operations and maintenance | 732 | 17.4 mi | |
| 1996 | Arson/incendiarism | 725 | 48.7 mi | |
| 1999 | Arson/incendiarism | 679 | 49.8 mi | |
| 1992 | Arson/incendiarism | 600 | 49.1 mi | |
| 1997 | Debris and open burning | 600 | 47.7 mi |
Top 3 ZIP codes by NFIRS incident count across 2021–2025. Each ZIP has its own fire profile — dive in for neighborhood-level context.
Six Minnesota cities with population within ±25% of Hibbing. 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.