In 2025, fire departments serving Oskaloosa responded to 21 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $250K 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 81% of all calls.
Mar peaks. Jan dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
175 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2024. $371K cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 43 | — | |
| 2022 | 34 | -20.9% | |
| 2023 | 25 | -26.5% | |
| 2024 | 52 | +108.0% | |
| 2025 | 21 | -59.6% |
For the 6 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 58 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 | 19 | 32.8% | |
| 2 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 8 | 13.8% | |
| 3 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 7 | 12.1% | |
| 4 | Other | 6 | 10.3% | |
| 5 | Cargo/trunk area - all vehicles | 3 | 5.2% | |
| 6 | Outside area, other | 3 | 5.2% | |
| 7 | Wildland, woods | 3 | 5.2% | |
| 8 | Common room, den, family room, living room, lounge | 1 | 1.7% | |
| 9 | Office | 1 | 1.7% | |
| 10 | Chute/container - trash, rubbish, waste | 1 | 1.7% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 6 | 10.3% |
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 Oskaloosa mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 22 | 37.9% | |
| 2 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 7 | 12.1% | |
| 3 | Hot ember or ash | 5 | 8.6% | |
| 4 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 4 | 6.9% | |
| 5 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 4 | 6.9% | |
| 6 | Heat from other open flame or smoking materials | 3 | 5.2% | |
| 7 | Flying brand, ember, spark | 3 | 5.2% | |
| 8 | Arcing | 2 | 3.4% | |
| 9 | Heat from direct flame, convection currents | 2 | 3.4% | |
| 10 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 1 | 1.7% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 5 | 8.6% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Oskaloosa departments in 2025. These 1 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $250,000 | Building fires | Major | 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. 46,337 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1996 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 12,000 | 37.4 mi | |
| 2005 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 8,000 | 46.3 mi | |
| 2018 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 3,200 | 42.9 mi | |
| 2020 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 3,000 | 34.5 mi | |
| 2017 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 1,800 | 40.8 mi | |
| 2011 | Debris and open burning | 1,700 | 35.1 mi | |
| 1994 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 1,600 | 40.0 mi | |
| 2018 | Debris and open burning | 1,500 | 46.8 mi | |
| 2014 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 1,500 | 41.4 mi | |
| 2017 | Debris and open burning | 1,250 | 31.8 mi | |
| 2009 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 1,200 | 46.2 mi | |
| 2005 | Arson/incendiarism | 940 | 41.1 mi |
Top 4 ZIP codes by NFIRS incident count across 2021–2025. Each ZIP has its own fire profile — dive in for neighborhood-level context.
Six Kansas cities with population within ±25% of Oskaloosa. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
2 departments report to NFIRS for incidents in Oskaloosa.
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.