In 2025, fire departments serving Nashwauk responded to 29 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $104K 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 79% of all calls.
Apr peaks. Feb dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
141 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2023. $2.7M cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 25 | — | |
| 2022 | 23 | -8.0% | |
| 2023 | 33 | +43.5% | |
| 2024 | 31 | -6.1% | |
| 2025 | 29 | -6.5% |
For the 8 building fires Nashwauk departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 34 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 | 21 | 61.8% | |
| 2 | Vehicle area, other | 4 | 11.8% | |
| 3 | Structural area, other | 2 | 5.9% | |
| 4 | Other | 1 | 2.9% | |
| 5 | Bedroom - < 5 persons; included are jail or prison | 1 | 2.9% | |
| 6 | Cooking area, kitchen | 1 | 2.9% | |
| 7 | Vehicle storage area; garage, carport | 1 | 2.9% | |
| 8 | Attic: vacant, crawl space above top story, cupola | 1 | 2.9% | |
| 9 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 1 | 2.9% | |
| 10 | Vacant structural area | 1 | 2.9% |
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 Nashwauk mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 31 | 91.2% | |
| 2 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 2 | 5.9% | |
| 3 | Arcing | 1 | 2.9% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Nashwauk departments in 2025. These 7 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $104,400 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 2 | $100,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $75,000 | Road freight or transport vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 4 | $1,500 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 5 | $750 | Camper or recreational vehicle (RV) fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 6 | $500 | Forest, woods or wildland fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 7 | $1 | Forest, woods or wildland fire | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Nashwauk sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 22,055 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1992 | Arson/incendiarism | 5,200 | 44.6 mi | |
| 2015 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 3,200 | 48.7 mi | |
| 1992 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 2,200 | 41.4 mi | |
| 2009 | Arson/incendiarism | 1,150 | 41.3 mi | |
| 2000 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 953 | 50.0 mi | |
| 1998 | Railroad operations and maintenance | 950 | 27.8 mi | |
| 2012 | Arson/incendiarism | 850 | 43.0 mi | |
| 2003 | Railroad operations and maintenance | 732 | 26.9 mi | |
| 1996 | Arson/incendiarism | 725 | 43.3 mi | |
| 1999 | Arson/incendiarism | 679 | 44.4 mi | |
| 1992 | Arson/incendiarism | 600 | 42.8 mi | |
| 1997 | Debris and open burning | 600 | 42.1 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 | 55769 | 141 |
Six Minnesota cities with population within ±25% of Nashwauk. 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.