In 2025, fire departments serving Savage responded to 118 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $2.0M building blaze. Here's the full picture.
Building fires lead by count. Building fires lead by dollars. Together the top five categories make up about 65% of all calls.
Apr peaks. Sep dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
570 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2024. $5.4M cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 91 | — | |
| 2022 | 119 | +30.8% | |
| 2023 | 119 | +0.0% | |
| 2024 | 123 | +3.4% | |
| 2025 | 118 | -4.1% |
For the 27 building fires Savage departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 148 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 | 21 | 14.2% | |
| 2 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 17 | 11.5% | |
| 3 | Cooking area, kitchen | 13 | 8.8% | |
| 4 | Chute/container - trash, rubbish, waste | 10 | 6.8% | |
| 5 | Vehicle storage area; garage, carport | 8 | 5.4% | |
| 6 | Highway, parking lot, street: on or near | 8 | 5.4% | |
| 7 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 8 | 5.4% | |
| 8 | Exterior balcony, unenclosed porch | 7 | 4.7% | |
| 9 | Outside area, other | 7 | 4.7% | |
| 10 | Common room, den, family room, living room, lounge | 4 | 2.7% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 45 | 30.4% |
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 Savage mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 65 | 43.9% | |
| 2 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 17 | 11.5% | |
| 3 | Hot ember or ash | 11 | 7.4% | |
| 4 | Arcing | 8 | 5.4% | |
| 5 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 7 | 4.7% | |
| 6 | Heat source: other | 6 | 4.1% | |
| 7 | Molten, hot material | 4 | 2.7% | |
| 8 | Fireworks | 4 | 2.7% | |
| 9 | Cigarette lighter | 4 | 2.7% | |
| 10 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 3 | 2.0% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 19 | 12.8% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Savage departments in 2025. These 8 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $2,000,000 | Building fires | Major | Investigated |
| 2 | $365,500 | Building fires | Major | Investigated |
| 3 | $234,900 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 4 | $67,500 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 5 | $25,000 | Mobile property (vehicle) fire, other | Significant | Investigated |
| 6 | $23,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 7 | $8,994 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 8 | $5,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Savage sits below the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 19,691 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 | 40.3 mi | |
| 2006 | Arson/incendiarism | 2,909 | 41.3 mi | |
| 2009 | Arson/incendiarism | 2,550 | 38.8 mi | |
| 2004 | Recreation and ceremony | 1,000 | 8.4 mi | |
| 2000 | Smoking | 420 | 44.8 mi | |
| 2012 | Debris and open burning | 400 | 36.5 mi | |
| 2010 | Equipment and vehicle use | 336 | 37.4 mi | |
| 1999 | Railroad operations and maintenance | 306 | 35.5 mi | |
| 1996 | Arson/incendiarism | 290 | 39.8 mi | |
| 2005 | Debris and open burning | 260 | 41.3 mi | |
| 2004 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 250 | 28.7 mi | |
| 2007 | Recreation and ceremony | 248 | 42.7 mi |
Top 5 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 Savage. 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.