In 2025, fire departments serving Pella responded to 71 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $500K building blaze. Here's the full picture.
Grass fire lead by count. Building fires lead by dollars. Together the top five categories make up about 70% of all calls.
Mar peaks. Apr dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
340 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2024. $2.7M cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 44 | — | |
| 2022 | 53 | +20.5% | |
| 2023 | 83 | +56.6% | |
| 2024 | 89 | +7.2% | |
| 2025 | 71 | -20.2% |
For the 4 building fires Pella 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 | Undetermined | 31 | 28.2% | |
| 2 | Outside area, other | 17 | 15.5% | |
| 3 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 11 | 10.0% | |
| 4 | Vehicle area, other | 5 | 4.5% | |
| 5 | Laundry area, wash house (laundry) | 4 | 3.6% | |
| 6 | Storage area, other | 4 | 3.6% | |
| 7 | Exterior balcony, unenclosed porch | 4 | 3.6% | |
| 8 | Other | 3 | 2.7% | |
| 9 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 3 | 2.7% | |
| 10 | Multiple areas | 3 | 2.7% | |
| 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 Pella mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 44 | 40.0% | |
| 2 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 16 | 14.5% | |
| 3 | Heat source: other | 15 | 13.6% | |
| 4 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 9 | 8.2% | |
| 5 | Hot ember or ash | 5 | 4.5% | |
| 6 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 3 | 2.7% | |
| 7 | Heat, spark from friction | 3 | 2.7% | |
| 8 | Heat spread from another fire, other | 3 | 2.7% | |
| 9 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 2 | 1.8% | |
| 10 | Arcing | 2 | 1.8% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 8 | 7.3% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Pella departments in 2025. These 8 fires alone account for 99% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $500,000 | Building fires | Major | Investigated |
| 2 | $350,000 | Building fires | Major | Investigated |
| 3 | $80,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 4 | $5,000 | Fire, other | Significant | Investigated |
| 5 | $5,000 | Fire, other | Significant | Investigated |
| 6 | $5,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 7 | $5,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 8 | $5,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Pella sits below the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 9,272 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 | 41.9 mi | |
| 2014 | Debris and open burning | 1,000 | 14.1 mi | |
| 2017 | Equipment and vehicle use | 700 | 37.6 mi | |
| 2020 | Debris and open burning | 500 | 45.3 mi | |
| 2014 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 500 | 21.2 mi | |
| 2015 | Debris and open burning | 500 | 28.2 mi | |
| 2018 | Debris and open burning | 402 | 45.7 mi | |
| 2004 | Debris and open burning | 400 | 42.4 mi | |
| 2006 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 360 | 48.4 mi | |
| 2006 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 346 | 45.7 mi | |
| 2017 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 340 | 48.7 mi | |
| 2014 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 320 | 45.9 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 | 50219 | 340 |
Six Iowa cities with population within ±25% of Pella. 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.