In 2025, fire departments serving Rice responded to 21 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $180K 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 57% of all calls.
Nov peaks. Sep dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
120 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2021. $2.0M cumulative property loss. 1 civilian deaths.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 31 | — | |
| 2022 | 23 | -25.8% | |
| 2023 | 23 | +0.0% | |
| 2024 | 22 | -4.3% | |
| 2025 | 21 | -4.5% |
For the 2 building fires Rice departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 51 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 | 14 | 27.5% | |
| 2 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 9 | 17.6% | |
| 3 | Undetermined | 7 | 13.7% | |
| 4 | Bedroom - < 5 persons; included are jail or prison | 2 | 3.9% | |
| 5 | Cooking area, kitchen | 2 | 3.9% | |
| 6 | Storage area, other | 2 | 3.9% | |
| 7 | Conveyor | 2 | 3.9% | |
| 8 | Cargo/trunk area - all vehicles | 2 | 3.9% | |
| 9 | Other | 1 | 2.0% | |
| 10 | Common room, den, family room, living room, lounge | 1 | 2.0% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 9 | 17.6% |
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 Rice mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 13 | 25.5% | |
| 2 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 12 | 23.5% | |
| 3 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 11 | 21.6% | |
| 4 | Arcing | 5 | 9.8% | |
| 5 | Heat, spark from friction | 2 | 3.9% | |
| 6 | Molten, hot material | 1 | 2.0% | |
| 7 | Hot ember or ash | 1 | 2.0% | |
| 8 | Fireworks | 1 | 2.0% | |
| 9 | Cigarette | 1 | 2.0% | |
| 10 | Match | 1 | 2.0% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 3 | 5.9% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Rice departments in 2025. These 8 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $180,000 | Off-road vehicle or heavy equipment fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 2 | $36,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $35,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 4 | $10,000 | Road freight or transport vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 5 | $3,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 6 | $1,000 | Brush, or brush and grass mixture fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 7 | $1,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 8 | $600 | Cooking fire, confined to container | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Rice sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 17,535 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1992 | Debris and open burning | 1,737 | 14.8 mi | |
| 1996 | Recreation and ceremony | 1,460 | 38.1 mi | |
| 1996 | Debris and open burning | 1,299 | 33.9 mi | |
| 2002 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 1,260 | 38.9 mi | |
| 2003 | Arson/incendiarism | 1,250 | 18.0 mi | |
| 1992 | Arson/incendiarism | 830 | 13.8 mi | |
| 1998 | Arson/incendiarism | 750 | 13.9 mi | |
| 2004 | Debris and open burning | 710 | 16.2 mi | |
| 1993 | Arson/incendiarism | 680 | 18.8 mi | |
| 2006 | Arson/incendiarism | 663 | 28.8 mi | |
| 1993 | Arson/incendiarism | 640 | 22.5 mi | |
| 1992 | Debris and open burning | 620 | 20.7 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 | 56367 | 120 |
Six Minnesota cities with population within ±25% of Rice. 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.