In 2025, fire departments serving Marengo responded to 43 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $50 building blaze. Here's the full picture.
Grass fire lead by count. Building fires lead by dollars. Together the top five categories make up about 65% of all calls.
Mar peaks. Jun dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
194 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2022. $135K cumulative property loss. 1 civilian deaths.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 24 | — | |
| 2022 | 55 | +129.2% | |
| 2023 | 40 | -27.3% | |
| 2024 | 32 | -20.0% | |
| 2025 | 43 | +34.4% |
For the 3 building fires Marengo departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 3 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 | Other | 1 | 33.3% | |
| 2 | Vehicle area, other | 1 | 33.3% | |
| 3 | Undetermined | 1 | 33.3% |
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 Marengo mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Arcing | 1 | 33.3% | |
| 2 | Hot ember or ash | 1 | 33.3% | |
| 3 | Undetermined | 1 | 33.3% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Marengo departments in 2025. These 1 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $50 | Cooking fire, confined to container | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Marengo sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 6,950 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2014 | Debris and open burning | 1,000 | 40.9 mi | |
| 2011 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 824 | 3.6 mi | |
| 2018 | Debris and open burning | 402 | 12.3 mi | |
| 2004 | Debris and open burning | 400 | 35.1 mi | |
| 2012 | Debris and open burning | 400 | 39.5 mi | |
| 2006 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 360 | 6.9 mi | |
| 2018 | Debris and open burning | 316 | 7.1 mi | |
| 2011 | Debris and open burning | 250 | 15.8 mi | |
| 2016 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 250 | 20.3 mi | |
| 2020 | Debris and open burning | 228 | 3.9 mi | |
| 2003 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 200 | 32.4 mi | |
| 2015 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 200 | 49.5 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 | 52301 | 194 |
Six Iowa cities with population within ±25% of Marengo. 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.