In 2025, fire departments serving Lake Park responded to 18 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $100K 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 83% of all calls.
Mar peaks. Feb dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
95 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2023. $1.6M cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 16 | — | |
| 2022 | 16 | +0.0% | |
| 2023 | 31 | +93.8% | |
| 2024 | 14 | -54.8% | |
| 2025 | 18 | +28.6% |
For the 6 building fires Lake Park departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 22 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 | 5 | 22.7% | |
| 2 | Storage area, other | 3 | 13.6% | |
| 3 | Undetermined | 3 | 13.6% | |
| 4 | Equipment or service area, other | 2 | 9.1% | |
| 5 | Interior stairway or ramp | 1 | 4.5% | |
| 6 | Bedroom - < 5 persons; included are jail or prison | 1 | 4.5% | |
| 7 | Processing/manufacturing area, workroom | 1 | 4.5% | |
| 8 | Vehicle storage area; garage, carport | 1 | 4.5% | |
| 9 | Conduit, pipe, utility, or ventilation shaft | 1 | 4.5% | |
| 10 | Structural area, other | 1 | 4.5% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 3 | 13.6% |
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 Lake Park mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Arcing | 9 | 40.9% | |
| 2 | Undetermined | 5 | 22.7% | |
| 3 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 2 | 9.1% | |
| 4 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 2 | 9.1% | |
| 5 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 1 | 4.5% | |
| 6 | Hot ember or ash | 1 | 4.5% | |
| 7 | Heat from other open flame or smoking materials | 1 | 4.5% | |
| 8 | Cigarette | 1 | 4.5% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Lake Park departments in 2025. These 2 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $100,000 | Road freight or transport vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 2 | $2,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Lake Park sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 35,377 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2013 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 7,100 | 43.3 mi | |
| 2003 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 2,855 | 29.2 mi | |
| 2010 | Arson/incendiarism | 2,425 | 41.3 mi | |
| 2005 | Debris and open burning | 1,800 | 34.7 mi | |
| 2003 | Debris and open burning | 1,593 | 13.4 mi | |
| 2011 | Debris and open burning | 1,540 | 24.3 mi | |
| 2003 | Arson/incendiarism | 1,400 | 39.1 mi | |
| 2015 | Equipment and vehicle use | 1,200 | 20.7 mi | |
| 2012 | Equipment and vehicle use | 1,185 | 17.7 mi | |
| 1996 | Arson/incendiarism | 1,155 | 16.9 mi | |
| 2011 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 1,122 | 13.1 mi | |
| 1999 | Debris and open burning | 1,050 | 45.9 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 | 56554 | 95 |
Six Minnesota cities with population within ±25% of Lake Park. 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.