In 2025, fire departments serving Ramsey responded to 154 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $250K building blaze. Here's the full picture.
Unauthorized burning lead by count. Building fires lead by dollars. Together the top five categories make up about 71% of all calls.
May peaks. Nov dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
803 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2024. $3.9M cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 135 | — | |
| 2022 | 162 | +20.0% | |
| 2023 | 155 | -4.3% | |
| 2024 | 197 | +27.1% | |
| 2025 | 154 | -21.8% |
For the 30 building fires Ramsey departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 177 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 | 25 | 14.1% | |
| 2 | Outside area, other | 16 | 9.0% | |
| 3 | Wildland, woods | 16 | 9.0% | |
| 4 | Vehicle storage area; garage, carport | 14 | 7.9% | |
| 5 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 13 | 7.3% | |
| 6 | Wall surface: exterior | 12 | 6.8% | |
| 7 | Highway, parking lot, street: on or near | 7 | 4.0% | |
| 8 | Cooking area, kitchen | 6 | 3.4% | |
| 9 | Structural area, other | 6 | 3.4% | |
| 10 | Courtyard, patio, porch, terrace | 6 | 3.4% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 56 | 31.6% |
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 Ramsey mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 62 | 35.0% | |
| 2 | Hot ember or ash | 22 | 12.4% | |
| 3 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 18 | 10.2% | |
| 4 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 13 | 7.3% | |
| 5 | Arcing | 9 | 5.1% | |
| 6 | Cigarette | 7 | 4.0% | |
| 7 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 6 | 3.4% | |
| 8 | Lightning | 6 | 3.4% | |
| 9 | Flame/torch used for lighting | 5 | 2.8% | |
| 10 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 4 | 2.3% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 25 | 14.1% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Ramsey departments in 2025. These 8 fires alone account for 94% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $250,000 | Building fires | Major | Investigated |
| 2 | $204,493 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $75,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 4 | $75,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 5 | $25,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 6 | $20,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 7 | $15,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 8 | $10,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Ramsey sits below the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 23,165 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 | 15.9 mi | |
| 2009 | Arson/incendiarism | 2,550 | 16.4 mi | |
| 1992 | Debris and open burning | 1,737 | 49.7 mi | |
| 1996 | Debris and open burning | 1,299 | 17.4 mi | |
| 2004 | Recreation and ceremony | 1,000 | 32.1 mi | |
| 2004 | Railroad operations and maintenance | 835 | 40.5 mi | |
| 2004 | Debris and open burning | 710 | 50.0 mi | |
| 1993 | Arson/incendiarism | 640 | 45.6 mi | |
| 2000 | Arson/incendiarism | 480 | 49.6 mi | |
| 1997 | Arson/incendiarism | 430 | 49.6 mi | |
| 1993 | Arson/incendiarism | 423 | 47.7 mi | |
| 2000 | Smoking | 420 | 16.3 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 Ramsey. 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.