In 2025, fire departments serving Long Prairie responded to 40 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $60K 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 63% of all calls.
Feb peaks. Jun dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
200 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2022. $608K cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 35 | — | |
| 2022 | 58 | +65.7% | |
| 2023 | 34 | -41.4% | |
| 2024 | 33 | -2.9% | |
| 2025 | 40 | +21.2% |
For the 9 building fires Long Prairie departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 94 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 | 22 | 23.4% | |
| 2 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 12 | 12.8% | |
| 3 | Outside area, other | 8 | 8.5% | |
| 4 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 6 | 6.4% | |
| 5 | Vehicle area, other | 5 | 5.3% | |
| 6 | Highway, parking lot, street: on or near | 5 | 5.3% | |
| 7 | Vehicle storage area; garage, carport | 4 | 4.3% | |
| 8 | Function area, other | 3 | 3.2% | |
| 9 | Laundry area, wash house (laundry) | 3 | 3.2% | |
| 10 | Courtyard, patio, porch, terrace | 3 | 3.2% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 23 | 24.5% |
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 Long Prairie mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 42 | 44.7% | |
| 2 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 12 | 12.8% | |
| 3 | Arcing | 11 | 11.7% | |
| 4 | Heat source: other | 4 | 4.3% | |
| 5 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 4 | 4.3% | |
| 6 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 3 | 3.2% | |
| 7 | Molten, hot material | 3 | 3.2% | |
| 8 | Flying brand, ember, spark | 3 | 3.2% | |
| 9 | Heat, spark from friction | 2 | 2.1% | |
| 10 | Hot ember or ash | 2 | 2.1% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 8 | 8.5% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Long Prairie departments in 2025. These 8 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $60,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 2 | $60,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $5,000 | Off-road vehicle or heavy equipment fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 4 | $1 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 5 | $1 | Road freight or transport vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 6 | $1 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 7 | $1 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 8 | $1 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Long Prairie sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 17,696 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1992 | Debris and open burning | 1,737 | 42.9 mi | |
| 2015 | Equipment and vehicle use | 1,725 | 24.6 mi | |
| 2012 | Equipment and vehicle use | 1,520 | 42.6 mi | |
| 2002 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 1,260 | 37.1 mi | |
| 2003 | Arson/incendiarism | 1,250 | 43.8 mi | |
| 1992 | Arson/incendiarism | 830 | 32.5 mi | |
| 1998 | Arson/incendiarism | 750 | 31.8 mi | |
| 2004 | Debris and open burning | 710 | 43.8 mi | |
| 1993 | Arson/incendiarism | 680 | 45.3 mi | |
| 2006 | Arson/incendiarism | 663 | 41.3 mi | |
| 1992 | Debris and open burning | 620 | 13.4 mi | |
| 1992 | Arson/incendiarism | 600 | 45.5 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 | 56347 | 200 |
Six Minnesota cities with population within ±25% of Long Prairie. 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.