In 2025, fire departments serving Moulton responded to 28 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $30K 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 100% of all calls.
Mar peaks. Apr dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
91 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2025. $224K cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 14 | — | |
| 2022 | 16 | +14.3% | |
| 2023 | 17 | +6.2% | |
| 2024 | 16 | -5.9% | |
| 2025 | 28 | +75.0% |
For the 7 building fires Moulton departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 22 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 | 4 | 18.2% | |
| 2 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 3 | 13.6% | |
| 3 | Bedroom - < 5 persons; included are jail or prison | 2 | 9.1% | |
| 4 | Conduit, pipe, utility, or ventilation shaft | 2 | 9.1% | |
| 5 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 2 | 9.1% | |
| 6 | Other | 1 | 4.5% | |
| 7 | Escalator - exterior, interior | 1 | 4.5% | |
| 8 | Egress/exit, other | 1 | 4.5% | |
| 9 | Common room, den, family room, living room, lounge | 1 | 4.5% | |
| 10 | Duct: hvac, cable, exhaust, heating, or AC | 1 | 4.5% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 4 | 18.2% |
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 Moulton mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 12 | 54.5% | |
| 2 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 4 | 18.2% | |
| 3 | Heat, spark from friction | 2 | 9.1% | |
| 4 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 1 | 4.5% | |
| 5 | Heat from other open flame or smoking materials | 1 | 4.5% | |
| 6 | Chemical, natural heat source, other | 1 | 4.5% | |
| 7 | Heat spread from another fire, other | 1 | 4.5% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Moulton departments in 2025. These 6 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $30,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 2 | $20,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $10,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 4 | $10,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 5 | $5,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 6 | $1,000 | Grass fire | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Moulton sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 9,294 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2005 | Arson/incendiarism | 1,200 | 33.9 mi | |
| 2014 | Debris and open burning | 1,000 | 48.9 mi | |
| 2005 | Debris and open burning | 800 | 47.3 mi | |
| 2017 | Debris and open burning | 640 | 5.4 mi | |
| 2020 | Debris and open burning | 500 | 19.9 mi | |
| 2014 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 500 | 36.0 mi | |
| 2015 | Debris and open burning | 500 | 35.8 mi | |
| 2020 | Debris and open burning | 454 | 14.0 mi | |
| 2017 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 340 | 9.9 mi | |
| 2014 | Debris and open burning | 327 | 48.2 mi | |
| 2015 | Debris and open burning | 300 | 33.0 mi | |
| 2014 | Debris and open burning | 250 | 35.8 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 | 52572 | 91 |
Six Iowa cities with population within ±25% of Moulton. 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.