In 2025, fire departments serving Mendota Heights responded to 58 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $200K building blaze. Here's the full picture.
Power line down lead by count. Building fires lead by dollars. Together the top five categories make up about 72% of all calls.
Jul peaks. Sep dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
301 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2021. $1.3M cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 61 | — | |
| 2022 | 61 | +0.0% | |
| 2023 | 61 | +0.0% | |
| 2024 | 60 | -1.6% | |
| 2025 | 58 | -3.3% |
For the 4 building fires Mendota Heights departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 53 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 | 15 | 28.3% | |
| 2 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 14 | 26.4% | |
| 3 | Cooking area, kitchen | 4 | 7.5% | |
| 4 | Vehicle storage area; garage, carport | 2 | 3.8% | |
| 5 | Operator/passenger area of transportation equip. | 2 | 3.8% | |
| 6 | Outside area, other | 2 | 3.8% | |
| 7 | Common room, den, family room, living room, lounge | 1 | 1.9% | |
| 8 | Bedroom - < 5 persons; included are jail or prison | 1 | 1.9% | |
| 9 | Laundry area, wash house (laundry) | 1 | 1.9% | |
| 10 | Processing/manufacturing area, workroom | 1 | 1.9% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 10 | 18.9% |
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 Mendota Heights mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 32 | 60.4% | |
| 2 | Heat source: other | 4 | 7.5% | |
| 3 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 3 | 5.7% | |
| 4 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 3 | 5.7% | |
| 5 | Arcing | 3 | 5.7% | |
| 6 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 2 | 3.8% | |
| 7 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 2 | 3.8% | |
| 8 | Hot ember or ash | 2 | 3.8% | |
| 9 | Heat from other open flame or smoking materials | 1 | 1.9% | |
| 10 | Heat from direct flame, convection currents | 1 | 1.9% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Mendota Heights departments in 2025. These 8 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $200,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 2 | $30,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $25,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 4 | $16,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 5 | $5,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 6 | $5,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 7 | $100 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 8 | $1 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Mendota Heights sits below the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 17,734 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 | 29.9 mi | |
| 2009 | Arson/incendiarism | 2,550 | 28.0 mi | |
| 1996 | Debris and open burning | 1,299 | 47.7 mi | |
| 2004 | Recreation and ceremony | 1,000 | 5.7 mi | |
| 2000 | Smoking | 420 | 34.9 mi | |
| 2010 | Equipment and vehicle use | 336 | 29.2 mi | |
| 1999 | Railroad operations and maintenance | 306 | 27.6 mi | |
| 2005 | Debris and open burning | 260 | 27.7 mi | |
| 2004 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 250 | 19.2 mi | |
| 2007 | Recreation and ceremony | 248 | 31.7 mi | |
| 2009 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 225 | 39.8 mi | |
| 2000 | Equipment and vehicle use | 220 | 49.6 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 Mendota Heights. 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.