In 2025, fire departments serving Keewatin responded to 19 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $4K building blaze. Here's the full picture.
Arcing, shorted electrical equipment lead by count. Building fires lead by dollars. Together the top five categories make up about 53% of all calls.
May peaks. Jan dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
62 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2025. $598K cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 11 | — | |
| 2022 | 15 | +36.4% | |
| 2023 | 8 | -46.7% | |
| 2024 | 9 | +12.5% | |
| 2025 | 19 | +111.1% |
For the 0 building fires Keewatin departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 26 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 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 12 | 46.2% | |
| 2 | Other | 2 | 7.7% | |
| 3 | Duct: hvac, cable, exhaust, heating, or AC | 2 | 7.7% | |
| 4 | Equipment or service area, other | 2 | 7.7% | |
| 5 | Cargo/trunk area - all vehicles | 2 | 7.7% | |
| 6 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 2 | 7.7% | |
| 7 | Machinery room or area; elevator machinery room | 1 | 3.8% | |
| 8 | Attic: vacant, crawl space above top story, cupola | 1 | 3.8% | |
| 9 | Railroad right of way: on or near | 1 | 3.8% | |
| 10 | Undetermined | 1 | 3.8% |
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 Keewatin mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 8 | 30.8% | |
| 2 | Arcing | 6 | 23.1% | |
| 3 | Heat source: other | 3 | 11.5% | |
| 4 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 2 | 7.7% | |
| 5 | Undetermined | 2 | 7.7% | |
| 6 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 1 | 3.8% | |
| 7 | Munitions | 1 | 3.8% | |
| 8 | Cigarette | 1 | 3.8% | |
| 9 | Backfire from internal combustion engine | 1 | 3.8% | |
| 10 | Flame/torch used for lighting | 1 | 3.8% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Keewatin departments in 2025. These 4 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $4,000 | Fires in structures other than in a building | Significant | Investigated |
| 2 | $1,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $75 | Dumpster or other outside trash receptacle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 4 | $1 | Mobile property (vehicle) fire, other | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Keewatin sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 18,935 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 | 40.5 mi | |
| 1992 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 2,200 | 37.3 mi | |
| 2009 | Arson/incendiarism | 1,150 | 44.0 mi | |
| 2000 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 953 | 46.8 mi | |
| 1998 | Railroad operations and maintenance | 950 | 24.7 mi | |
| 2012 | Arson/incendiarism | 850 | 45.7 mi | |
| 2003 | Railroad operations and maintenance | 732 | 23.4 mi | |
| 1996 | Arson/incendiarism | 725 | 46.0 mi | |
| 1999 | Arson/incendiarism | 679 | 47.1 mi | |
| 1992 | Arson/incendiarism | 600 | 45.9 mi | |
| 1997 | Debris and open burning | 600 | 44.9 mi | |
| 2010 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 517 | 17.6 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 Minnesota cities with population within ±25% of Keewatin. 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.