In 2025, fire departments serving Nisswa responded to 22 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $483K 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 64% of all calls.
May peaks. Nov dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
113 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2021. $2.1M cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 27 | — | |
| 2022 | 23 | -14.8% | |
| 2023 | 22 | -4.3% | |
| 2024 | 19 | -13.6% | |
| 2025 | 22 | +15.8% |
For the 5 building fires Nisswa departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 16 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 | 3 | 18.8% | |
| 2 | Common room, den, family room, living room, lounge | 2 | 12.5% | |
| 3 | Cooking area, kitchen | 2 | 12.5% | |
| 4 | Other | 1 | 6.2% | |
| 5 | Exterior stairway, ramp, or fire escape | 1 | 6.2% | |
| 6 | Closet | 1 | 6.2% | |
| 7 | Vehicle storage area; garage, carport | 1 | 6.2% | |
| 8 | Duct: hvac, cable, exhaust, heating, or AC | 1 | 6.2% | |
| 9 | Heating room or area, water heater area | 1 | 6.2% | |
| 10 | Structural area, other | 1 | 6.2% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 2 | 12.5% |
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 Nisswa mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 5 | 31.2% | |
| 2 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 3 | 18.8% | |
| 3 | Arcing | 3 | 18.8% | |
| 4 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 2 | 12.5% | |
| 5 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 1 | 6.2% | |
| 6 | Cigarette | 1 | 6.2% | |
| 7 | Match | 1 | 6.2% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Nisswa departments in 2025. These 2 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $483,200 | Building fires | Major | Investigated |
| 2 | $1,500 | Forest, woods or wildland fire | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Nisswa sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 28,059 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2013 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 7,100 | 47.9 mi | |
| 1992 | Debris and open burning | 1,737 | 45.7 mi | |
| 2015 | Equipment and vehicle use | 1,725 | 31.8 mi | |
| 2012 | Equipment and vehicle use | 1,520 | 30.4 mi | |
| 2002 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 1,260 | 13.0 mi | |
| 2003 | Arson/incendiarism | 1,250 | 42.9 mi | |
| 1996 | Arson/incendiarism | 1,242 | 49.0 mi | |
| 2009 | Arson/incendiarism | 1,150 | 45.6 mi | |
| 2012 | Arson/incendiarism | 850 | 44.5 mi | |
| 1992 | Arson/incendiarism | 830 | 38.4 mi | |
| 1998 | Arson/incendiarism | 750 | 38.1 mi | |
| 1996 | Arson/incendiarism | 725 | 44.0 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 | 56468 | 113 |
Six Minnesota cities with population within ±25% of Nisswa. 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.