In 2025, fire departments serving Monticello responded to 41 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $250K 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 71% of all calls.
Jul peaks. Dec dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
198 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2024. $2.1M cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 27 | — | |
| 2022 | 44 | +63.0% | |
| 2023 | 37 | -15.9% | |
| 2024 | 49 | +32.4% | |
| 2025 | 41 | -16.3% |
For the 7 building fires Monticello departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 57 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 | 41 | 71.9% | |
| 2 | Storage area, other | 4 | 7.0% | |
| 3 | Cooking area, kitchen | 2 | 3.5% | |
| 4 | Vehicle storage area; garage, carport | 2 | 3.5% | |
| 5 | Exterior balcony, unenclosed porch | 2 | 3.5% | |
| 6 | Wall surface: exterior | 2 | 3.5% | |
| 7 | Common room, den, family room, living room, lounge | 1 | 1.8% | |
| 8 | Chute/container - trash, rubbish, waste | 1 | 1.8% | |
| 9 | Structural area, other | 1 | 1.8% | |
| 10 | Outside area, other | 1 | 1.8% |
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 Monticello mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 42 | 73.7% | |
| 2 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 4 | 7.0% | |
| 3 | Hot ember or ash | 3 | 5.3% | |
| 4 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 2 | 3.5% | |
| 5 | Heat, spark from friction | 2 | 3.5% | |
| 6 | Heat source: other | 1 | 1.8% | |
| 7 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 1 | 1.8% | |
| 8 | Match | 1 | 1.8% | |
| 9 | Cigarette lighter | 1 | 1.8% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Monticello departments in 2025. These 4 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $250,000 | Building fires | Major | Investigated |
| 2 | $225,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $150,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 4 | $1,500 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Monticello sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 2,900 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2012 | Debris and open burning | 400 | 43.9 mi | |
| 2011 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 200 | 32.5 mi | |
| 2014 | Debris and open burning | 200 | 43.8 mi | |
| 2006 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 200 | 38.9 mi | |
| 2018 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 165 | 34.1 mi | |
| 2014 | Debris and open burning | 160 | 43.4 mi | |
| 2015 | Debris and open burning | 160 | 48.5 mi | |
| 2009 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 150 | 27.1 mi | |
| 2014 | Debris and open burning | 150 | 40.7 mi | |
| 2014 | Debris and open burning | 120 | 39.4 mi | |
| 2017 | Debris and open burning | 120 | 46.8 mi | |
| 2009 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 100 | 37.2 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 | 52310 | 198 |
Six Iowa cities with population within ±25% of Monticello. 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.