In 2025, fire departments serving Maxwell responded to 32 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $100 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 78% of all calls.
Mar peaks. Feb dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
100 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2025. $103 cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 14 | — | |
| 2022 | 17 | +21.4% | |
| 2023 | 17 | +0.0% | |
| 2024 | 20 | +17.6% | |
| 2025 | 32 | +60.0% |
For the 4 building fires Maxwell departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 17 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 | 12 | 70.6% | |
| 2 | Cooking area, kitchen | 2 | 11.8% | |
| 3 | Heating room or area, water heater area | 1 | 5.9% | |
| 4 | Operator/passenger area of transportation equip. | 1 | 5.9% | |
| 5 | Outside area, other | 1 | 5.9% |
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 Maxwell mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 14 | 82.4% | |
| 2 | Heat source: other | 1 | 5.9% | |
| 3 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 1 | 5.9% | |
| 4 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 1 | 5.9% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Maxwell departments in 2025. These 1 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $100 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Maxwell sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 4,419 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2017 | Equipment and vehicle use | 700 | 7.0 mi | |
| 2004 | Debris and open burning | 400 | 36.7 mi | |
| 2006 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 346 | 49.6 mi | |
| 2014 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 320 | 49.0 mi | |
| 2003 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 200 | 38.8 mi | |
| 2004 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 175 | 38.6 mi | |
| 2018 | Arson/incendiarism | 175 | 41.3 mi | |
| 2010 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 160 | 47.6 mi | |
| 2010 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 160 | 36.6 mi | |
| 2007 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 150 | 49.7 mi | |
| 2003 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 150 | 38.8 mi | |
| 2004 | Debris and open burning | 150 | 37.4 mi |
Top 3 ZIP codes by NFIRS incident count across 2021–2025. Each ZIP has its own fire profile — dive in for neighborhood-level context.
Six Iowa cities with population within ±25% of Maxwell. 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.