In 2025, fire departments serving Iowa responded to 88 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $250K 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 49% of all calls.
Apr peaks. Oct dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
468 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2023. $320K cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 61 | — | |
| 2022 | 72 | +18.0% | |
| 2023 | 142 | +97.2% | |
| 2024 | 105 | -26.1% | |
| 2025 | 88 | -16.2% |
For the 11 building fires Iowa departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 179 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 | 53 | 29.6% | |
| 2 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 35 | 19.6% | |
| 3 | Outside area, other | 16 | 8.9% | |
| 4 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 13 | 7.3% | |
| 5 | Wildland, woods | 9 | 5.0% | |
| 6 | Other | 8 | 4.5% | |
| 7 | Attic: vacant, crawl space above top story, cupola | 8 | 4.5% | |
| 8 | Vehicle area, other | 5 | 2.8% | |
| 9 | Highway, parking lot, street: on or near | 5 | 2.8% | |
| 10 | Cooking area, kitchen | 3 | 1.7% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 24 | 13.4% |
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 Iowa mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 93 | 52.0% | |
| 2 | Heat source: other | 11 | 6.1% | |
| 3 | Flame/torch used for lighting | 10 | 5.6% | |
| 4 | Arcing | 8 | 4.5% | |
| 5 | Cigarette lighter | 7 | 3.9% | |
| 6 | Lightning | 5 | 2.8% | |
| 7 | Heat spread from another fire, other | 5 | 2.8% | |
| 8 | Conducted heat from another fire | 5 | 2.8% | |
| 9 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 4 | 2.2% | |
| 10 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 4 | 2.2% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 27 | 15.1% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Iowa departments in 2025. These 5 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $250,000 | Building fires | Major | Investigated |
| 2 | $20,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $8,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 4 | $5,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 5 | $100 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Iowa sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 161,841 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 | 12,877 | 42.4 mi | |
| 2005 | Natural | 12,154 | 33.5 mi | |
| 2014 | Natural | 11,218 | 45.4 mi | |
| 1992 | Debris and open burning | 11,210 | 40.4 mi | |
| 2014 | Natural | 8,874 | 34.3 mi | |
| 2019 | Natural | 7,433 | 38.2 mi | |
| 2001 | Natural | 7,000 | 35.2 mi | |
| 2016 | Natural | 6,385 | 38.8 mi | |
| 2013 | Natural | 6,384 | 40.0 mi | |
| 2009 | Natural | 6,365 | 39.0 mi | |
| 2010 | Natural | 6,259 | 39.7 mi | |
| 2011 | Natural | 6,174 | 34.9 mi |
Top 6 ZIP codes by NFIRS incident count across 2021–2025. Each ZIP has its own fire profile — dive in for neighborhood-level context.
Six Louisiana cities with population within ±25% of Iowa. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
2 departments report to NFIRS for incidents in Iowa.
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.