In 2025, fire departments serving Montevideo responded to 43 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $100K 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 77% of all calls.
Apr peaks. Jan dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
155 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2025. $947K cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 26 | — | |
| 2022 | 29 | +11.5% | |
| 2023 | 24 | -17.2% | |
| 2024 | 33 | +37.5% | |
| 2025 | 43 | +30.3% |
For the 6 building fires Montevideo departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 44 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 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 9 | 20.5% | |
| 2 | Undetermined | 8 | 18.2% | |
| 3 | Vehicle storage area; garage, carport | 4 | 9.1% | |
| 4 | Cooking area, kitchen | 3 | 6.8% | |
| 5 | Common room, den, family room, living room, lounge | 2 | 4.5% | |
| 6 | Bedroom - < 5 persons; included are jail or prison | 2 | 4.5% | |
| 7 | Storage room, area, tank, or bin | 2 | 4.5% | |
| 8 | Wall surface: exterior | 2 | 4.5% | |
| 9 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 2 | 4.5% | |
| 10 | Entrance way, lobby | 1 | 2.3% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 9 | 20.5% |
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 Montevideo mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 24 | 54.5% | |
| 2 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 5 | 11.4% | |
| 3 | Arcing | 5 | 11.4% | |
| 4 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 3 | 6.8% | |
| 5 | Hot ember or ash | 3 | 6.8% | |
| 6 | Heat, spark from friction | 1 | 2.3% | |
| 7 | Cigarette | 1 | 2.3% | |
| 8 | Candle | 1 | 2.3% | |
| 9 | Conducted heat from another fire | 1 | 2.3% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Montevideo departments in 2025. These 8 fires alone account for 96% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $100,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 2 | $75,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $10,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 4 | $10,000 | Outside equipment fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 5 | $5,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 6 | $5,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 7 | $5,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 8 | $5,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Montevideo sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 20,496 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2004 | Arson/incendiarism | 7,330 | 29.6 mi | |
| 2003 | Debris and open burning | 3,191 | 17.9 mi | |
| 2015 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 2,100 | 46.1 mi | |
| 2004 | Debris and open burning | 1,149 | 34.7 mi | |
| 2000 | Debris and open burning | 847 | 31.0 mi | |
| 2008 | Debris and open burning | 613 | 43.0 mi | |
| 2003 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 590 | 44.7 mi | |
| 2013 | Recreation and ceremony | 430 | 33.0 mi | |
| 1992 | Debris and open burning | 404 | 38.3 mi | |
| 2004 | Natural | 354 | 40.8 mi | |
| 2009 | Debris and open burning | 345 | 42.9 mi | |
| 2010 | Debris and open burning | 321 | 40.8 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 | 56265 | 155 |
Six Minnesota cities with population within ±25% of Montevideo. 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.