In 2025, fire departments serving Newton responded to 143 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $500K 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 53% of all calls.
Mar peaks. Dec dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
659 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2024. $2.0M cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 118 | — | |
| 2022 | 111 | -5.9% | |
| 2023 | 130 | +17.1% | |
| 2024 | 157 | +20.8% | |
| 2025 | 143 | -8.9% |
For the 22 building fires Newton departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 150 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 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 37 | 24.7% | |
| 2 | Undetermined | 19 | 12.7% | |
| 3 | Vehicle storage area; garage, carport | 12 | 8.0% | |
| 4 | Laundry area, wash house (laundry) | 6 | 4.0% | |
| 5 | Outside area, other | 6 | 4.0% | |
| 6 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 6 | 4.0% | |
| 7 | Cooking area, kitchen | 5 | 3.3% | |
| 8 | Bedroom - < 5 persons; included are jail or prison | 4 | 2.7% | |
| 9 | Wall surface: exterior | 4 | 2.7% | |
| 10 | Cargo/trunk area - all vehicles | 4 | 2.7% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 47 | 31.3% |
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 Newton mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 76 | 50.7% | |
| 2 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 12 | 8.0% | |
| 3 | Heat, spark from friction | 9 | 6.0% | |
| 4 | Hot ember or ash | 9 | 6.0% | |
| 5 | Arcing | 7 | 4.7% | |
| 6 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 6 | 4.0% | |
| 7 | Heat source: other | 4 | 2.7% | |
| 8 | Cigarette | 4 | 2.7% | |
| 9 | Cigarette lighter | 4 | 2.7% | |
| 10 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 3 | 2.0% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 16 | 10.7% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Newton departments in 2025. These 8 fires alone account for 99% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $500,000 | Building fires | Major | Investigated |
| 2 | $40,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $35,000 | Road freight or transport vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 4 | $10,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 5 | $5,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 6 | $3,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 7 | $2,300 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 8 | $2,000 | Cooking fire, confined to container | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Newton sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 8,296 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2014 | Debris and open burning | 1,000 | 29.2 mi | |
| 2011 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 824 | 48.2 mi | |
| 2017 | Equipment and vehicle use | 700 | 21.2 mi | |
| 2014 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 500 | 40.0 mi | |
| 2015 | Debris and open burning | 500 | 45.6 mi | |
| 2018 | Debris and open burning | 402 | 40.6 mi | |
| 2004 | Debris and open burning | 400 | 27.2 mi | |
| 2006 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 360 | 45.2 mi | |
| 2006 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 346 | 49.6 mi | |
| 2014 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 320 | 49.4 mi | |
| 2018 | Debris and open burning | 316 | 44.8 mi | |
| 2014 | Debris and open burning | 250 | 44.4 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 | 50208 | 659 |
Six Iowa cities with population within ±25% of Newton. 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.