In 2025, fire departments serving Roland responded to 11 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $3K 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 91% of all calls.
Apr peaks. Jan dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
38 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2025. $252K cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 9 | — | |
| 2022 | 5 | -44.4% | |
| 2023 | 7 | +40.0% | |
| 2024 | 6 | -14.3% | |
| 2025 | 11 | +83.3% |
For the 2 building fires Roland departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 11 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 | Cooking area, kitchen | 3 | 27.3% | |
| 2 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 3 | 27.3% | |
| 3 | Undetermined | 3 | 27.3% | |
| 4 | Other | 1 | 9.1% | |
| 5 | Outside area, other | 1 | 9.1% |
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 Roland mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 5 | 45.5% | |
| 2 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 3 | 27.3% | |
| 3 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 2 | 18.2% | |
| 4 | Heat source: other | 1 | 9.1% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Roland departments in 2025. These 2 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $2,500 | Chimney or flue fire, confined to chimney or flue | Significant | Investigated |
| 2 | $2,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Roland sits below the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 3,713 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2017 | Equipment and vehicle use | 700 | 26.1 mi | |
| 2004 | Debris and open burning | 400 | 43.0 mi | |
| 2003 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 200 | 45.7 mi | |
| 2004 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 175 | 45.2 mi | |
| 2018 | Arson/incendiarism | 175 | 48.6 mi | |
| 2010 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 160 | 18.4 mi | |
| 2003 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 150 | 45.7 mi | |
| 2004 | Debris and open burning | 150 | 43.6 mi | |
| 2011 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 120 | 32.5 mi | |
| 2011 | Arson/incendiarism | 115 | 48.0 mi | |
| 2002 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 101 | 47.1 mi | |
| 2013 | Debris and open burning | 100 | 27.8 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 | 50236 | 38 |
Six Iowa cities with population within ±25% of Roland. 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.