In 2025, fire departments serving Slayton responded to 23 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $150K 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 87% of all calls.
Apr peaks. Jun dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
81 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2025. $2.4M cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 14 | — | |
| 2022 | 16 | +14.3% | |
| 2023 | 16 | +0.0% | |
| 2024 | 12 | -25.0% | |
| 2025 | 23 | +91.7% |
For the 8 building fires Slayton 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 | 6 | 25.0% | |
| 2 | Vehicle storage area; garage, carport | 3 | 12.5% | |
| 3 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 3 | 12.5% | |
| 4 | Storage room, area, tank, or bin | 2 | 8.3% | |
| 5 | Common room, den, family room, living room, lounge | 1 | 4.2% | |
| 6 | Bedroom - < 5 persons; included are jail or prison | 1 | 4.2% | |
| 7 | Cooking area, kitchen | 1 | 4.2% | |
| 8 | Storage: supplies or tools; dead storage | 1 | 4.2% | |
| 9 | Shipping/receiving area; loading area, dock or bay | 1 | 4.2% | |
| 10 | Heating room or area, water heater area | 1 | 4.2% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 4 | 16.7% |
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 Slayton mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 10 | 41.7% | |
| 2 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 5 | 20.8% | |
| 3 | Arcing | 5 | 20.8% | |
| 4 | Hot ember or ash | 3 | 12.5% | |
| 5 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 1 | 4.2% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Slayton departments in 2025. These 4 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $150,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 2 | $10,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $2,500 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 4 | $250 | Forest, woods or wildland fire | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Slayton sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 2,378 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2011 | Debris and open burning | 215 | 47.3 mi | |
| 2004 | Arson/incendiarism | 200 | 28.7 mi | |
| 2011 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 160 | 39.0 mi | |
| 2004 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 152 | 39.9 mi | |
| 2000 | Debris and open burning | 127 | 35.9 mi | |
| 2014 | Debris and open burning | 123 | 19.5 mi | |
| 2005 | Debris and open burning | 120 | 43.4 mi | |
| 2011 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 100 | 46.6 mi | |
| 2000 | Debris and open burning | 96 | 34.8 mi | |
| 2014 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 95 | 42.3 mi | |
| 1994 | Debris and open burning | 95 | 25.9 mi | |
| 2012 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 81 | 25.8 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 | 56172 | 81 |
Six Minnesota cities with population within ±25% of Slayton. 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.