In 2025, fire departments serving Pequot Lakes responded to 27 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $321K 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.
May peaks. Aug dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
168 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2021. $4.5M cumulative property loss. 1 civilian deaths.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 41 | — | |
| 2022 | 33 | -19.5% | |
| 2023 | 38 | +15.2% | |
| 2024 | 29 | -23.7% | |
| 2025 | 27 | -6.9% |
For the 8 building fires Pequot Lakes departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 32 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 | 5 | 15.6% | |
| 2 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 4 | 12.5% | |
| 3 | Cooking area, kitchen | 3 | 9.4% | |
| 4 | Common room, den, family room, living room, lounge | 2 | 6.2% | |
| 5 | Bedroom - < 5 persons; included are jail or prison | 2 | 6.2% | |
| 6 | Vehicle storage area; garage, carport | 2 | 6.2% | |
| 7 | Vehicle area, other | 2 | 6.2% | |
| 8 | Wildland, woods | 2 | 6.2% | |
| 9 | Bathroom, checkroom, lavatory, locker room | 1 | 3.1% | |
| 10 | Storage room, area, tank, or bin | 1 | 3.1% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 8 | 25.0% |
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 Pequot Lakes mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 7 | 21.9% | |
| 2 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 6 | 18.8% | |
| 3 | Arcing | 5 | 15.6% | |
| 4 | Hot ember or ash | 4 | 12.5% | |
| 5 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 3 | 9.4% | |
| 6 | Flying brand, ember, spark | 2 | 6.2% | |
| 7 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 1 | 3.1% | |
| 8 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 1 | 3.1% | |
| 9 | Cigarette | 1 | 3.1% | |
| 10 | Heat spread from another fire, other | 1 | 3.1% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 1 | 3.1% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Pequot Lakes departments in 2025. These 5 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $320,700 | Building fires | Major | Investigated |
| 2 | $60,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $5,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 4 | $1 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 5 | $1 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Pequot Lakes sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 25,689 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 | 45.3 mi | |
| 2015 | Equipment and vehicle use | 1,725 | 34.4 mi | |
| 2012 | Equipment and vehicle use | 1,520 | 29.7 mi | |
| 2002 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 1,260 | 19.0 mi | |
| 2003 | Arson/incendiarism | 1,250 | 48.5 mi | |
| 1996 | Arson/incendiarism | 1,242 | 43.0 mi | |
| 2009 | Arson/incendiarism | 1,150 | 43.1 mi | |
| 2012 | Arson/incendiarism | 850 | 42.1 mi | |
| 1992 | Arson/incendiarism | 830 | 44.3 mi | |
| 1998 | Arson/incendiarism | 750 | 44.1 mi | |
| 1996 | Arson/incendiarism | 725 | 41.6 mi | |
| 1993 | Arson/incendiarism | 680 | 49.5 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 | 56472 | 168 |
Six Minnesota cities with population within ±25% of Pequot Lakes. 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.