In 2025, fire departments serving Mahnomen responded to 17 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $200K 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 88% of all calls.
Apr peaks. Mar dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
82 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2023. $2.1M cumulative property loss. 2 civilian deaths.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 17 | — | |
| 2022 | 15 | -11.8% | |
| 2023 | 23 | +53.3% | |
| 2024 | 10 | -56.5% | |
| 2025 | 17 | +70.0% |
For the 8 building fires Mahnomen departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 23 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 | 6 | 26.1% | |
| 2 | Vehicle storage area; garage, carport | 2 | 8.7% | |
| 3 | Attic: vacant, crawl space above top story, cupola | 2 | 8.7% | |
| 4 | Cargo/trunk area - all vehicles | 2 | 8.7% | |
| 5 | Outside area, other | 2 | 8.7% | |
| 6 | Other | 1 | 4.3% | |
| 7 | Common room, den, family room, living room, lounge | 1 | 4.3% | |
| 8 | Cooking area, kitchen | 1 | 4.3% | |
| 9 | Laboratory | 1 | 4.3% | |
| 10 | Equipment or service area, other | 1 | 4.3% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 4 | 17.4% |
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 Mahnomen mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 17 | 73.9% | |
| 2 | Heat source: other | 1 | 4.3% | |
| 3 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 1 | 4.3% | |
| 4 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 1 | 4.3% | |
| 5 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 1 | 4.3% | |
| 6 | Heat, spark from friction | 1 | 4.3% | |
| 7 | Heat from direct flame, convection currents | 1 | 4.3% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Mahnomen departments in 2025. These 6 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $200,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 2 | $25,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $20,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 4 | $15,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 5 | $5,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 6 | $3,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Mahnomen sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 55,249 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2002 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 8,480 | 46.1 mi | |
| 2013 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 7,100 | 49.7 mi | |
| 2000 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 5,120 | 49.9 mi | |
| 1994 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 4,200 | 49.0 mi | |
| 2010 | Arson/incendiarism | 2,425 | 22.4 mi | |
| 2000 | Debris and open burning | 2,200 | 49.7 mi | |
| 2003 | Arson/incendiarism | 2,140 | 37.9 mi | |
| 2002 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 1,875 | 49.0 mi | |
| 2005 | Debris and open burning | 1,800 | 18.9 mi | |
| 2020 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 1,792 | 30.9 mi | |
| 2003 | Debris and open burning | 1,593 | 35.2 mi | |
| 2011 | Debris and open burning | 1,540 | 19.1 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 | 56557 | 82 |
Six Minnesota cities with population within ±25% of Mahnomen. 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.