In 2025, fire departments serving Sacred Heart responded to 16 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $20K building blaze. Here's the full picture.
Forest, woods or wildland fire lead by count. Building fires lead by dollars. Together the top five categories make up about 81% of all calls.
Apr peaks. Feb dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
44 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2025. $972K cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 8 | — | |
| 2022 | 6 | -25.0% | |
| 2023 | 7 | +16.7% | |
| 2024 | 7 | +0.0% | |
| 2025 | 16 | +128.6% |
For the 3 building fires Sacred Heart departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 24 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 | Undetermined | 7 | 29.2% | |
| 2 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 4 | 16.7% | |
| 3 | Storage area, other | 2 | 8.3% | |
| 4 | Equipment or service area, other | 2 | 8.3% | |
| 5 | Operator/passenger area of transportation equip. | 2 | 8.3% | |
| 6 | Other | 1 | 4.2% | |
| 7 | Entrance way, lobby | 1 | 4.2% | |
| 8 | Processing/manufacturing area, workroom | 1 | 4.2% | |
| 9 | Substructure area or space, crawl space | 1 | 4.2% | |
| 10 | Exterior balcony, unenclosed porch | 1 | 4.2% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 2 | 8.3% |
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 Sacred Heart mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 6 | 25.0% | |
| 2 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 4 | 16.7% | |
| 3 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 3 | 12.5% | |
| 4 | Arcing | 3 | 12.5% | |
| 5 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 2 | 8.3% | |
| 6 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 2 | 8.3% | |
| 7 | Heat, spark from friction | 2 | 8.3% | |
| 8 | Heat source: other | 1 | 4.2% | |
| 9 | Heat from other open flame or smoking materials | 1 | 4.2% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Sacred Heart departments in 2025. These 4 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $20,000 | Off-road vehicle or heavy equipment fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 2 | $15,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $2,500 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 4 | $1,500 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Sacred Heart sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 8,154 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2003 | Debris and open burning | 3,191 | 39.1 mi | |
| 2000 | Debris and open burning | 847 | 40.8 mi | |
| 2013 | Recreation and ceremony | 430 | 32.2 mi | |
| 1992 | Debris and open burning | 404 | 49.0 mi | |
| 2012 | Equipment and vehicle use | 264 | 48.2 mi | |
| 2003 | Debris and open burning | 252 | 44.9 mi | |
| 2002 | Arson/incendiarism | 240 | 41.9 mi | |
| 1997 | Arson/incendiarism | 231 | 38.2 mi | |
| 1999 | Arson/incendiarism | 229 | 38.2 mi | |
| 2015 | Debris and open burning | 217 | 46.7 mi | |
| 2004 | Arson/incendiarism | 200 | 46.3 mi | |
| 2009 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 180 | 43.9 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 | 56285 | 44 |
Six Minnesota cities with population within ±25% of Sacred Heart. 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.