In 2025, fire departments serving Medina responded to 59 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $16K 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.
Aug peaks. Dec dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
227 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2025. $1.4M cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 46 | — | |
| 2022 | 48 | +4.3% | |
| 2023 | 43 | -10.4% | |
| 2024 | 31 | -27.9% | |
| 2025 | 59 | +90.3% |
For the 22 building fires Medina departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 29 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 | 5 | 17.2% | |
| 2 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 4 | 13.8% | |
| 3 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 3 | 10.3% | |
| 4 | Other | 2 | 6.9% | |
| 5 | Chute/container - trash, rubbish, waste | 2 | 6.9% | |
| 6 | Wildland, woods | 2 | 6.9% | |
| 7 | Cooking area, kitchen | 1 | 3.4% | |
| 8 | Office | 1 | 3.4% | |
| 9 | Vehicle storage area; garage, carport | 1 | 3.4% | |
| 10 | Heating room or area, water heater area | 1 | 3.4% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 7 | 24.1% |
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 Medina mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 13 | 44.8% | |
| 2 | Arcing | 3 | 10.3% | |
| 3 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 2 | 6.9% | |
| 4 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 2 | 6.9% | |
| 5 | Heat, spark from friction | 2 | 6.9% | |
| 6 | Hot ember or ash | 2 | 6.9% | |
| 7 | Heat source: other | 1 | 3.4% | |
| 8 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 1 | 3.4% | |
| 9 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 1 | 3.4% | |
| 10 | Match | 1 | 3.4% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 1 | 3.4% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Medina departments in 2025. These 4 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $16,000 | Fire, other | Significant | Investigated |
| 2 | $8,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $800 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 4 | $100 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Medina sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 18,215 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | Debris and open burning | 8,513 | 29.4 mi | |
| 2009 | Arson/incendiarism | 2,550 | 28.8 mi | |
| 1996 | Debris and open burning | 1,299 | 30.0 mi | |
| 2004 | Recreation and ceremony | 1,000 | 22.7 mi | |
| 2000 | Smoking | 420 | 31.8 mi | |
| 2010 | Equipment and vehicle use | 336 | 23.3 mi | |
| 1995 | Debris and open burning | 320 | 33.4 mi | |
| 1999 | Railroad operations and maintenance | 306 | 21.4 mi | |
| 2010 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 280 | 37.4 mi | |
| 2004 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 250 | 20.2 mi | |
| 2007 | Recreation and ceremony | 248 | 32.4 mi | |
| 2009 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 225 | 47.6 mi |
Top 5 ZIP codes by NFIRS incident count across 2021–2025. Each ZIP has its own fire profile — dive in for neighborhood-level context.
Six Minnesota cities with population within ±25% of Medina. 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.