In 2025, fire departments serving Osakis responded to 23 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $300K building blaze. Here's the full picture.
Brush, or brush and grass mixture fire lead by count. Building fires lead by dollars. Together the top five categories make up about 74% of all calls.
Apr peaks. May dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
128 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2022. $4.4M cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 24 | — | |
| 2022 | 32 | +33.3% | |
| 2023 | 21 | -34.4% | |
| 2024 | 28 | +33.3% | |
| 2025 | 23 | -17.9% |
For the 4 building fires Osakis departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 46 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 | 11 | 23.9% | |
| 2 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 10 | 21.7% | |
| 3 | Cooking area, kitchen | 3 | 6.5% | |
| 4 | Exterior, exposed surface | 3 | 6.5% | |
| 5 | Vehicle storage area; garage, carport | 2 | 4.3% | |
| 6 | Structural area, other | 2 | 4.3% | |
| 7 | Substructure area or space, crawl space | 2 | 4.3% | |
| 8 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 2 | 4.3% | |
| 9 | Common room, den, family room, living room, lounge | 1 | 2.2% | |
| 10 | Function area, other | 1 | 2.2% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 9 | 19.6% |
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 Osakis mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 24 | 52.2% | |
| 2 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 5 | 10.9% | |
| 3 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 4 | 8.7% | |
| 4 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 4 | 8.7% | |
| 5 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 3 | 6.5% | |
| 6 | Arcing | 3 | 6.5% | |
| 7 | Hot ember or ash | 2 | 4.3% | |
| 8 | Heat from other open flame or smoking materials | 1 | 2.2% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Osakis departments in 2025. These 7 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $300,000 | Building fires | Major | Investigated |
| 2 | $30,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $25,000 | Road freight or transport vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 4 | $5,000 | Cooking fire, confined to container | Significant | Investigated |
| 5 | $500 | Forest, woods or wildland fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 6 | $500 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 7 | $500 | Off-road vehicle or heavy equipment fire | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Osakis sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 10,644 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2015 | Equipment and vehicle use | 1,725 | 34.1 mi | |
| 2000 | Debris and open burning | 847 | 37.9 mi | |
| 1992 | Debris and open burning | 620 | 26.3 mi | |
| 2003 | Equipment and vehicle use | 470 | 26.2 mi | |
| 2000 | Arson/incendiarism | 440 | 22.8 mi | |
| 2013 | Recreation and ceremony | 430 | 43.9 mi | |
| 1992 | Debris and open burning | 404 | 31.3 mi | |
| 1992 | Debris and open burning | 360 | 38.0 mi | |
| 2003 | Arson/incendiarism | 360 | 44.2 mi | |
| 1992 | Debris and open burning | 357 | 42.6 mi | |
| 1996 | Debris and open burning | 342 | 44.7 mi | |
| 2003 | Debris and open burning | 332 | 38.8 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 | 56360 | 128 |
Six Minnesota cities with population within ±25% of Osakis. 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.