In 2025, fire departments serving Oskaloosa responded to 222 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $55K building blaze. Here's the full picture.
Authorized controlled burning lead by count. Building fires lead by dollars. Together the top five categories make up about 60% of all calls.
Apr peaks. Oct dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
982 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2025. $3.6M cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 176 | — | |
| 2022 | 195 | +10.8% | |
| 2023 | 178 | -8.7% | |
| 2024 | 211 | +18.5% | |
| 2025 | 222 | +5.2% |
For the 11 building fires Oskaloosa departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 110 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 | 29 | 26.4% | |
| 2 | Undetermined | 17 | 15.5% | |
| 3 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 10 | 9.1% | |
| 4 | Wall surface: exterior | 7 | 6.4% | |
| 5 | Vehicle storage area; garage, carport | 5 | 4.5% | |
| 6 | Outside area, other | 5 | 4.5% | |
| 7 | Cooking area, kitchen | 4 | 3.6% | |
| 8 | Function area, other | 3 | 2.7% | |
| 9 | Highway, parking lot, street: on or near | 3 | 2.7% | |
| 10 | Assembly or sales area, other | 2 | 1.8% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 25 | 22.7% |
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 Oskaloosa mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 45 | 40.9% | |
| 2 | Arcing | 10 | 9.1% | |
| 3 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 9 | 8.2% | |
| 4 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 7 | 6.4% | |
| 5 | Hot ember or ash | 6 | 5.5% | |
| 6 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 4 | 3.6% | |
| 7 | Heat from other open flame or smoking materials | 4 | 3.6% | |
| 8 | Heat source: other | 3 | 2.7% | |
| 9 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 3 | 2.7% | |
| 10 | Flying brand, ember, spark | 3 | 2.7% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 16 | 14.5% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Oskaloosa departments in 2025. These 8 fires alone account for 96% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $55,000 | Off-road vehicle or heavy equipment fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 2 | $50,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $50,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 4 | $10,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 5 | $7,500 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 6 | $5,000 | Off-road vehicle or heavy equipment fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 7 | $4,500 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 8 | $2,500 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Oskaloosa sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 9,894 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2005 | Arson/incendiarism | 1,200 | 44.6 mi | |
| 2014 | Debris and open burning | 1,000 | 7.0 mi | |
| 2011 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 824 | 45.7 mi | |
| 2017 | Debris and open burning | 640 | 39.3 mi | |
| 2020 | Debris and open burning | 500 | 31.2 mi | |
| 2014 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 500 | 24.9 mi | |
| 2015 | Debris and open burning | 500 | 32.5 mi | |
| 2020 | Debris and open burning | 454 | 49.1 mi | |
| 2018 | Debris and open burning | 402 | 43.8 mi | |
| 2004 | Debris and open burning | 400 | 48.7 mi | |
| 2006 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 360 | 44.7 mi | |
| 2017 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 340 | 36.8 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 | 52577 | 982 |
Six Iowa cities with population within ±25% of Oskaloosa. 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.