In 2025, fire departments serving Milaca responded to 37 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $50K 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 84% of all calls.
Mar peaks. Aug dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
268 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2021. $3.0M cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 75 | — | |
| 2022 | 73 | -2.7% | |
| 2023 | 38 | -47.9% | |
| 2024 | 45 | +18.4% | |
| 2025 | 37 | -17.8% |
For the 10 building fires Milaca departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 90 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 | 58 | 64.4% | |
| 2 | Vehicle storage area; garage, carport | 4 | 4.4% | |
| 3 | Entrance way, lobby | 3 | 3.3% | |
| 4 | Outside area, other | 3 | 3.3% | |
| 5 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 3 | 3.3% | |
| 6 | Egress/exit, other | 2 | 2.2% | |
| 7 | Maintenance shop or area, paint shop or area | 2 | 2.2% | |
| 8 | Wall surface: exterior | 2 | 2.2% | |
| 9 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 2 | 2.2% | |
| 10 | Wildland, woods | 2 | 2.2% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 9 | 10.0% |
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 Milaca mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 66 | 73.3% | |
| 2 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 6 | 6.7% | |
| 3 | Flying brand, ember, spark | 4 | 4.4% | |
| 4 | Heat, spark from friction | 2 | 2.2% | |
| 5 | Hot ember or ash | 2 | 2.2% | |
| 6 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 1 | 1.1% | |
| 7 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 1 | 1.1% | |
| 8 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 1 | 1.1% | |
| 9 | Molten, hot material | 1 | 1.1% | |
| 10 | Heat from other open flame or smoking materials | 1 | 1.1% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 5 | 5.6% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Milaca departments in 2025. These 7 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $50,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 2 | $50,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $15,000 | Off-road vehicle or heavy equipment fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 4 | $2,000 | Cooking fire, confined to container | Significant | Investigated |
| 5 | $2,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 6 | $1,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 7 | $500 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Milaca sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 28,678 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 | 39.7 mi | |
| 2009 | Arson/incendiarism | 2,550 | 41.6 mi | |
| 1992 | Debris and open burning | 1,737 | 17.9 mi | |
| 1996 | Recreation and ceremony | 1,460 | 18.2 mi | |
| 1996 | Debris and open burning | 1,299 | 20.4 mi | |
| 2002 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 1,260 | 48.3 mi | |
| 2003 | Arson/incendiarism | 1,250 | 18.7 mi | |
| 2004 | Railroad operations and maintenance | 835 | 25.2 mi | |
| 1992 | Arson/incendiarism | 830 | 29.1 mi | |
| 1998 | Arson/incendiarism | 750 | 29.7 mi | |
| 2004 | Debris and open burning | 710 | 17.5 mi | |
| 1999 | Equipment and vehicle use | 700 | 40.6 mi |
Top 2 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 Milaca. 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.