In 2025, fire departments serving Sauk Rapids responded to 42 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $275K 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 59% of all calls.
Jun peaks. Aug dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
240 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2023. $1.7M cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 43 | — | |
| 2022 | 47 | +9.3% | |
| 2023 | 59 | +25.5% | |
| 2024 | 49 | -16.9% | |
| 2025 | 42 | -14.3% |
For the 6 building fires Sauk Rapids departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 104 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 | 45 | 43.3% | |
| 2 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 12 | 11.5% | |
| 3 | Vehicle storage area; garage, carport | 6 | 5.8% | |
| 4 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 5 | 4.8% | |
| 5 | Switchgear area, transformer vault | 4 | 3.8% | |
| 6 | Cooking area, kitchen | 3 | 2.9% | |
| 7 | Storage: supplies or tools; dead storage | 3 | 2.9% | |
| 8 | Highway, parking lot, street: on or near | 3 | 2.9% | |
| 9 | Bedroom - < 5 persons; included are jail or prison | 2 | 1.9% | |
| 10 | Storage room, area, tank, or bin | 2 | 1.9% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 19 | 18.3% |
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 Sauk Rapids mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 66 | 63.5% | |
| 2 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 8 | 7.7% | |
| 3 | Arcing | 7 | 6.7% | |
| 4 | Hot ember or ash | 7 | 6.7% | |
| 5 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 4 | 3.8% | |
| 6 | Match | 2 | 1.9% | |
| 7 | Cigarette lighter | 2 | 1.9% | |
| 8 | Chemical reaction | 2 | 1.9% | |
| 9 | Flying brand, ember, spark | 2 | 1.9% | |
| 10 | Molten, hot material | 1 | 1.0% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 3 | 2.9% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Sauk Rapids departments in 2025. These 8 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $275,000 | Building fires | Major | Investigated |
| 2 | $192,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $145,000 | Road freight or transport vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 4 | $50,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 5 | $32,000 | Off-road vehicle or heavy equipment fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 6 | $15,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 7 | $7,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 8 | $5,000 | Grass fire | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Sauk Rapids sits below 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 | 21.0 mi | |
| 1996 | Recreation and ceremony | 1,460 | 41.3 mi | |
| 1996 | Debris and open burning | 1,299 | 25.4 mi | |
| 2002 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 1,260 | 49.8 mi | |
| 2003 | Arson/incendiarism | 1,250 | 24.7 mi | |
| 1992 | Arson/incendiarism | 830 | 24.4 mi | |
| 1998 | Arson/incendiarism | 750 | 24.6 mi | |
| 2004 | Debris and open burning | 710 | 22.3 mi | |
| 1993 | Arson/incendiarism | 680 | 24.9 mi | |
| 2006 | Arson/incendiarism | 663 | 38.4 mi | |
| 1993 | Arson/incendiarism | 640 | 25.7 mi | |
| 1992 | Debris and open burning | 620 | 30.2 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 | 56379 | 240 |
Six Minnesota cities with population within ±25% of Sauk Rapids. 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.