In 2025, fire departments serving Pelican Rapids responded to 14 fire and hazmat incidents . Here's the full picture.
Garbage dump or sanitary landfill fire lead by count. Building fires lead by dollars. Together the top five categories make up about 93% of all calls.
May peaks. Jan dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
61 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2025. $255K cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 13 | — | |
| 2022 | 11 | -15.4% | |
| 2023 | 12 | +9.1% | |
| 2024 | 11 | -8.3% | |
| 2025 | 14 | +27.3% |
For the 1 building fires Pelican Rapids departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 19 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 | 5 | 26.3% | |
| 2 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 4 | 21.1% | |
| 3 | Laundry area, wash house (laundry) | 1 | 5.3% | |
| 4 | Duct: hvac, cable, exhaust, heating, or AC | 1 | 5.3% | |
| 5 | Maintenance shop or area, paint shop or area | 1 | 5.3% | |
| 6 | Wall assembly | 1 | 5.3% | |
| 7 | Wall surface: exterior | 1 | 5.3% | |
| 8 | Vehicle area, other | 1 | 5.3% | |
| 9 | Operator/passenger area of transportation equip. | 1 | 5.3% | |
| 10 | Cargo/trunk area - all vehicles | 1 | 5.3% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 2 | 10.5% |
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 Pelican Rapids mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Arcing | 3 | 15.8% | |
| 2 | Heat from direct flame, convection currents | 3 | 15.8% | |
| 3 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 2 | 10.5% | |
| 4 | Conducted heat from another fire | 2 | 10.5% | |
| 5 | Undetermined | 2 | 10.5% | |
| 6 | Heat source: other | 1 | 5.3% | |
| 7 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 1 | 5.3% | |
| 8 | Heat, spark from friction | 1 | 5.3% | |
| 9 | Hot ember or ash | 1 | 5.3% | |
| 10 | Backfire from internal combustion engine | 1 | 5.3% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 2 | 10.5% |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Pelican Rapids sits below the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 28,944 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2013 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 7,100 | 46.3 mi | |
| 2003 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 2,855 | 14.3 mi | |
| 2003 | Debris and open burning | 1,593 | 20.6 mi | |
| 2011 | Debris and open burning | 1,540 | 44.9 mi | |
| 2015 | Equipment and vehicle use | 1,200 | 38.4 mi | |
| 2012 | Equipment and vehicle use | 1,185 | 38.2 mi | |
| 1996 | Arson/incendiarism | 1,155 | 25.2 mi | |
| 2011 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 1,122 | 34.6 mi | |
| 2011 | Arson/incendiarism | 1,000 | 41.1 mi | |
| 1999 | Debris and open burning | 990 | 35.4 mi | |
| 2006 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 950 | 40.8 mi | |
| 1992 | Debris and open burning | 910 | 22.1 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 | 56572 | 61 |
Six Minnesota cities with population within ±25% of Pelican Rapids. 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.