In 2025, fire departments serving New Ulm responded to 50 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $700K 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 68% of all calls.
Apr peaks. Mar dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
201 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2025. $12.5M cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 31 | — | |
| 2022 | 43 | +38.7% | |
| 2023 | 48 | +11.6% | |
| 2024 | 29 | -39.6% | |
| 2025 | 50 | +72.4% |
For the 13 building fires New Ulm departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 82 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 | 17 | 20.7% | |
| 2 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 15 | 18.3% | |
| 3 | Cooking area, kitchen | 6 | 7.3% | |
| 4 | Wall surface: exterior | 5 | 6.1% | |
| 5 | Outside area, other | 4 | 4.9% | |
| 6 | Bedroom - < 5 persons; included are jail or prison | 3 | 3.7% | |
| 7 | Storage area, other | 3 | 3.7% | |
| 8 | Vehicle storage area; garage, carport | 3 | 3.7% | |
| 9 | Common room, den, family room, living room, lounge | 2 | 2.4% | |
| 10 | Function area, other | 2 | 2.4% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 22 | 26.8% |
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 New Ulm mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 45 | 54.9% | |
| 2 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 6 | 7.3% | |
| 3 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 6 | 7.3% | |
| 4 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 5 | 6.1% | |
| 5 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 5 | 6.1% | |
| 6 | Hot ember or ash | 5 | 6.1% | |
| 7 | Heat, spark from friction | 3 | 3.7% | |
| 8 | Heat source: other | 1 | 1.2% | |
| 9 | Heat from other open flame or smoking materials | 1 | 1.2% | |
| 10 | Cigarette | 1 | 1.2% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 4 | 4.9% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by New Ulm departments in 2025. These 8 fires alone account for 96% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $700,000 | Building fires | Major | Investigated |
| 2 | $500,000 | Building fires | Major | Investigated |
| 3 | $400,000 | Off-road vehicle or heavy equipment fire | Major | Investigated |
| 4 | $250,000 | Building fires | Major | Investigated |
| 5 | $140,000 | Outside gas or vapor combustion explosion | Significant | Investigated |
| 6 | $40,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 7 | $34,400 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 8 | $30,000 | Off-road vehicle or heavy equipment fire | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. New Ulm sits below the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 5,483 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2006 | Arson/incendiarism | 2,909 | 34.2 mi | |
| 2012 | Debris and open burning | 400 | 33.8 mi | |
| 1996 | Arson/incendiarism | 290 | 27.2 mi | |
| 2003 | Equipment and vehicle use | 200 | 41.1 mi | |
| 2009 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 180 | 32.1 mi | |
| 2003 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 150 | 14.7 mi | |
| 2000 | Debris and open burning | 127 | 44.2 mi | |
| 2012 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 124 | 45.7 mi | |
| 2009 | Debris and open burning | 113 | 47.9 mi | |
| 2014 | Arson/incendiarism | 108 | 48.8 mi | |
| 2000 | Debris and open burning | 96 | 43.9 mi | |
| 1994 | Debris and open burning | 95 | 43.6 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 | 56073 | 201 |
Six Minnesota cities with population within ±25% of New Ulm. 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.