In 2025, fire departments serving Robbinsdale responded to 146 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $1.0M building blaze. Here's the full picture.
Power line down lead by count. Building fires lead by dollars. Together the top five categories make up about 70% of all calls.
Jul peaks. Mar dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
696 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2023. $3.1M cumulative property loss. 1 civilian deaths.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 132 | — | |
| 2022 | 123 | -6.8% | |
| 2023 | 148 | +20.3% | |
| 2024 | 147 | -0.7% | |
| 2025 | 146 | -0.7% |
For the 23 building fires Robbinsdale departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 113 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 | 22.1% | |
| 2 | Undetermined | 11 | 9.7% | |
| 3 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 10 | 8.8% | |
| 4 | Bedroom - < 5 persons; included are jail or prison | 9 | 8.0% | |
| 5 | Chute/container - trash, rubbish, waste | 6 | 5.3% | |
| 6 | Courtyard, patio, porch, terrace | 5 | 4.4% | |
| 7 | Common room, den, family room, living room, lounge | 4 | 3.5% | |
| 8 | Highway, parking lot, street: on or near | 4 | 3.5% | |
| 9 | Other | 3 | 2.7% | |
| 10 | Bathroom, checkroom, lavatory, locker room | 3 | 2.7% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 33 | 29.2% |
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 Robbinsdale mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 63 | 55.8% | |
| 2 | Arcing | 7 | 6.2% | |
| 3 | Hot ember or ash | 7 | 6.2% | |
| 4 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 6 | 5.3% | |
| 5 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 5 | 4.4% | |
| 6 | Fireworks | 5 | 4.4% | |
| 7 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 4 | 3.5% | |
| 8 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 4 | 3.5% | |
| 9 | Cigarette | 3 | 2.7% | |
| 10 | Heat from undetermined smoking material | 2 | 1.8% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 7 | 6.2% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Robbinsdale departments in 2025. These 8 fires alone account for 99% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $1,000,000 | Building fires | Major | Investigated |
| 2 | $230,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $100,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 4 | $100,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 5 | $40,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 6 | $31,606 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 7 | $20,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 8 | $7,420 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Robbinsdale sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 18,219 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 | 22.2 mi | |
| 2009 | Arson/incendiarism | 2,550 | 21.0 mi | |
| 1996 | Debris and open burning | 1,299 | 34.3 mi | |
| 2004 | Recreation and ceremony | 1,000 | 14.9 mi | |
| 2000 | Smoking | 420 | 26.2 mi | |
| 2010 | Equipment and vehicle use | 336 | 18.6 mi | |
| 1995 | Debris and open burning | 320 | 38.8 mi | |
| 1999 | Railroad operations and maintenance | 306 | 16.7 mi | |
| 2010 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 280 | 41.0 mi | |
| 2005 | Debris and open burning | 260 | 35.0 mi | |
| 2004 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 250 | 10.8 mi | |
| 2007 | Recreation and ceremony | 248 | 24.9 mi |
Top 3 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 Robbinsdale. 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.