In 2025, fire departments serving Otsego responded to 71 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $30K 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 68% of all calls.
Dec peaks. Apr dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
286 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2024. $2.2M cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 35 | — | |
| 2022 | 45 | +28.6% | |
| 2023 | 64 | +42.2% | |
| 2024 | 71 | +10.9% | |
| 2025 | 71 | +0.0% |
For the 12 building fires Otsego departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 74 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 | 17 | 23.0% | |
| 2 | Cooking area, kitchen | 6 | 8.1% | |
| 3 | Outside area, other | 6 | 8.1% | |
| 4 | Undetermined | 5 | 6.8% | |
| 5 | Cargo/trunk area - all vehicles | 4 | 5.4% | |
| 6 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 4 | 5.4% | |
| 7 | Laundry area, wash house (laundry) | 3 | 4.1% | |
| 8 | Vehicle storage area; garage, carport | 3 | 4.1% | |
| 9 | Operator/passenger area of transportation equip. | 3 | 4.1% | |
| 10 | Other | 2 | 2.7% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 21 | 28.4% |
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 Otsego mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 36 | 48.6% | |
| 2 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 11 | 14.9% | |
| 3 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 5 | 6.8% | |
| 4 | Hot ember or ash | 4 | 5.4% | |
| 5 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 3 | 4.1% | |
| 6 | Cigarette | 3 | 4.1% | |
| 7 | Flame/torch used for lighting | 2 | 2.7% | |
| 8 | Heat source: other | 1 | 1.4% | |
| 9 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 1 | 1.4% | |
| 10 | Arcing | 1 | 1.4% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 7 | 9.5% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Otsego departments in 2025. These 6 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $30,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 2 | $25,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $10,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 4 | $8,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 5 | $1,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 6 | $50 | Cooking fire, confined to container | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Otsego sits below the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 25,409 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 | 24.0 mi | |
| 2009 | Arson/incendiarism | 2,550 | 24.6 mi | |
| 1992 | Debris and open burning | 1,737 | 45.7 mi | |
| 1996 | Debris and open burning | 1,299 | 13.8 mi | |
| 2003 | Arson/incendiarism | 1,250 | 48.5 mi | |
| 2004 | Recreation and ceremony | 1,000 | 36.1 mi | |
| 2004 | Railroad operations and maintenance | 835 | 44.1 mi | |
| 2004 | Debris and open burning | 710 | 46.2 mi | |
| 1993 | Arson/incendiarism | 680 | 47.5 mi | |
| 1993 | Arson/incendiarism | 640 | 42.9 mi | |
| 1992 | Arson/incendiarism | 600 | 46.5 mi | |
| 2004 | Debris and open burning | 520 | 46.6 mi |
Top 7 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 Otsego. 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.