In 2025, fire departments serving Morris responded to 11 fire and hazmat incidents . Here's the full picture.
Building fires lead by count. Building fires lead by dollars. Together the top five categories make up about 73% of all calls.
Jun peaks. Jan dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
74 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2022. $95K cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 10 | — | |
| 2022 | 30 | +200.0% | |
| 2023 | 20 | -33.3% | |
| 2024* | 3 | — | |
| 2025 | 11 | — |
* Well below Morris's usual volume. That almost always means one or more departments didn't submit a full year to NFIRS, not that fires dropped, so no year-over-year change is shown for it.
For the 2 building fires Morris departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 26 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 | 11 | 42.3% | |
| 2 | Common room, den, family room, living room, lounge | 2 | 7.7% | |
| 3 | Wall surface: exterior | 2 | 7.7% | |
| 4 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 2 | 7.7% | |
| 5 | Highway, parking lot, street: on or near | 2 | 7.7% | |
| 6 | Bedroom - < 5 persons; included are jail or prison | 1 | 3.8% | |
| 7 | Bathroom, checkroom, lavatory, locker room | 1 | 3.8% | |
| 8 | Processing/manufacturing area, workroom | 1 | 3.8% | |
| 9 | Storage area, other | 1 | 3.8% | |
| 10 | Vehicle storage area; garage, carport | 1 | 3.8% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 2 | 7.7% |
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 Morris mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 18 | 69.2% | |
| 2 | Arcing | 3 | 11.5% | |
| 3 | Heat source: other | 1 | 3.8% | |
| 4 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 1 | 3.8% | |
| 5 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 1 | 3.8% | |
| 6 | Cigarette | 1 | 3.8% | |
| 7 | Candle | 1 | 3.8% |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Morris sits below the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 18,733 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 | 29.7 mi | |
| 2003 | Debris and open burning | 3,191 | 31.8 mi | |
| 2004 | Debris and open burning | 1,149 | 31.8 mi | |
| 2000 | Debris and open burning | 847 | 25.7 mi | |
| 2003 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 590 | 19.6 mi | |
| 2013 | Recreation and ceremony | 430 | 43.5 mi | |
| 1992 | Debris and open burning | 404 | 20.8 mi | |
| 2004 | Natural | 354 | 33.8 mi | |
| 2006 | Recreation and ceremony | 326 | 47.8 mi | |
| 2010 | Debris and open burning | 321 | 20.5 mi | |
| 2018 | Debris and open burning | 307 | 37.7 mi | |
| 2000 | Debris and open burning | 303 | 20.2 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 | 56267 | 74 |
Six Minnesota cities with population within ±25% of Morris. 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.