In 2025, fire departments serving Nicollet responded to 14 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $150K 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 93% of all calls.
Apr peaks. Jan dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
64 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2022. $943K cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 13 | — | |
| 2022 | 16 | +23.1% | |
| 2023 | 13 | -18.8% | |
| 2024 | 8 | -38.5% | |
| 2025 | 14 | +75.0% |
For the 7 building fires Nicollet departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 20 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 | 12 | 60.0% | |
| 2 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 3 | 15.0% | |
| 3 | Heating room or area, water heater area | 2 | 10.0% | |
| 4 | Storage area, other | 1 | 5.0% | |
| 5 | Wall surface: exterior | 1 | 5.0% | |
| 6 | Exterior, exposed surface | 1 | 5.0% |
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 Nicollet mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 15 | 75.0% | |
| 2 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 3 | 15.0% | |
| 3 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 1 | 5.0% | |
| 4 | Heat, spark from friction | 1 | 5.0% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Nicollet departments in 2025. These 2 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $150,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 2 | $10,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Nicollet sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 5,352 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 | 20.1 mi | |
| 2012 | Debris and open burning | 400 | 20.1 mi | |
| 1996 | Arson/incendiarism | 290 | 13.9 mi | |
| 2009 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 225 | 36.7 mi | |
| 2003 | Equipment and vehicle use | 200 | 35.4 mi | |
| 2009 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 180 | 37.1 mi | |
| 2003 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 150 | 4.6 mi | |
| 2007 | Debris and open burning | 100 | 45.2 mi | |
| 2010 | Recreation and ceremony | 85 | 45.2 mi | |
| 2006 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 75 | 24.4 mi | |
| 2011 | Equipment and vehicle use | 61 | 29.5 mi | |
| 2004 | Arson/incendiarism | 60 | 42.3 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 | 56074 | 64 |
Six Minnesota cities with population within ±25% of Nicollet. 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.