In 2025, fire departments serving Pine City responded to 50 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $120K 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 76% of all calls.
Jan peaks. Jun dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
191 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2024. $1.1M cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 23 | — | |
| 2022 | 33 | +43.5% | |
| 2023 | 32 | -3.0% | |
| 2024 | 53 | +65.6% | |
| 2025 | 50 | -5.7% |
For the 14 building fires Pine City departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 40 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 | 9 | 22.5% | |
| 2 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 5 | 12.5% | |
| 3 | Vehicle storage area; garage, carport | 4 | 10.0% | |
| 4 | Undetermined | 4 | 10.0% | |
| 5 | Wall surface: exterior | 3 | 7.5% | |
| 6 | Wildland, woods | 2 | 5.0% | |
| 7 | Corridor, mall | 1 | 2.5% | |
| 8 | Exterior stairway, ramp, or fire escape | 1 | 2.5% | |
| 9 | Bathroom, checkroom, lavatory, locker room | 1 | 2.5% | |
| 10 | Closet | 1 | 2.5% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 9 | 22.5% |
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 Pine City mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 21 | 52.5% | |
| 2 | Arcing | 4 | 10.0% | |
| 3 | Hot ember or ash | 4 | 10.0% | |
| 4 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 2 | 5.0% | |
| 5 | Heat, spark from friction | 2 | 5.0% | |
| 6 | Cigarette lighter | 2 | 5.0% | |
| 7 | Lightning | 2 | 5.0% | |
| 8 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 1 | 2.5% | |
| 9 | Flame/torch used for lighting | 1 | 2.5% | |
| 10 | Heat from direct flame, convection currents | 1 | 2.5% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Pine City departments in 2025. These 8 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $120,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 2 | $100,000 | Outside rubbish, trash or waste fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $100,000 | Outside rubbish, trash or waste fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 4 | $27,000 | Cultivated grain or crop fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 5 | $20,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 6 | $10,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 7 | $1,000 | Off-road vehicle or heavy equipment fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 8 | $100 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Pine City sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 23,647 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 | 37.0 mi | |
| 2009 | Arson/incendiarism | 2,550 | 38.6 mi | |
| 1996 | Recreation and ceremony | 1,460 | 29.4 mi | |
| 2000 | Debris and open burning | 1,350 | 27.2 mi | |
| 1996 | Debris and open burning | 1,299 | 42.5 mi | |
| 2004 | Railroad operations and maintenance | 835 | 8.2 mi | |
| 1999 | Equipment and vehicle use | 700 | 29.5 mi | |
| 2013 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 656 | 16.2 mi | |
| 1993 | Arson/incendiarism | 640 | 40.0 mi | |
| 1997 | Debris and open burning | 640 | 46.3 mi | |
| 1998 | Arson/incendiarism | 488 | 45.1 mi | |
| 1993 | Arson/incendiarism | 423 | 44.9 mi |
Top 2 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 Pine City. 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.