In 2025, fire departments serving Oakdale responded to 172 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $154K building blaze. Here's the full picture.
Gas leak (natural gas or LPG) lead by count. Building fires lead by dollars. Together the top five categories make up about 73% of all calls.
Jul peaks. Oct dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
764 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2025. $2.2M cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 131 | — | |
| 2022 | 160 | +22.1% | |
| 2023 | 144 | -10.0% | |
| 2024 | 157 | +9.0% | |
| 2025 | 172 | +9.6% |
For the 28 building fires Oakdale departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 99 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 | 22 | 22.2% | |
| 2 | Cooking area, kitchen | 13 | 13.1% | |
| 3 | Vehicle storage area; garage, carport | 7 | 7.1% | |
| 4 | Bedroom - < 5 persons; included are jail or prison | 6 | 6.1% | |
| 5 | Wall surface: exterior | 5 | 5.1% | |
| 6 | Egress/exit, other | 4 | 4.0% | |
| 7 | Operator/passenger area of transportation equip. | 4 | 4.0% | |
| 8 | Undetermined | 4 | 4.0% | |
| 9 | Common room, den, family room, living room, lounge | 3 | 3.0% | |
| 10 | Bathroom, checkroom, lavatory, locker room | 3 | 3.0% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 28 | 28.3% |
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 Oakdale mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 38 | 38.4% | |
| 2 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 14 | 14.1% | |
| 3 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 12 | 12.1% | |
| 4 | Heat source: other | 6 | 6.1% | |
| 5 | Arcing | 4 | 4.0% | |
| 6 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 4 | 4.0% | |
| 7 | Heat from other open flame or smoking materials | 4 | 4.0% | |
| 8 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 3 | 3.0% | |
| 9 | Heat, spark from friction | 3 | 3.0% | |
| 10 | Cigarette lighter | 3 | 3.0% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 8 | 8.1% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Oakdale departments in 2025. These 8 fires alone account for 94% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $153,500 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 2 | $136,620 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $50,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 4 | $41,412 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 5 | $18,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 6 | $12,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 7 | $10,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 8 | $8,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Oakdale sits below the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 17,662 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | Debris and open burning | 8,513 | 23.9 mi | |
| 2009 | Arson/incendiarism | 2,550 | 21.9 mi | |
| 1996 | Debris and open burning | 1,299 | 47.4 mi | |
| 2004 | Recreation and ceremony | 1,000 | 17.0 mi | |
| 2000 | Smoking | 420 | 29.3 mi | |
| 2010 | Equipment and vehicle use | 336 | 26.1 mi | |
| 1999 | Railroad operations and maintenance | 306 | 25.1 mi | |
| 2005 | Debris and open burning | 260 | 17.3 mi | |
| 2004 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 250 | 16.6 mi | |
| 2007 | Recreation and ceremony | 248 | 24.9 mi | |
| 2000 | Equipment and vehicle use | 220 | 47.9 mi | |
| 1999 | Arson/incendiarism | 217 | 17.0 mi |
Top 2 ZIP codes by NFIRS incident count across 2021–2025. Each ZIP has its own fire profile — dive in for neighborhood-level context.
Six Minnesota cities with population within ±25% of Oakdale. 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.