In 2025, fire departments serving Sleepy Eye responded to 11 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $70K 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 64% of all calls.
Apr peaks. Jan dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
86 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2022. $971K cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 15 | — | |
| 2022 | 24 | +60.0% | |
| 2023 | 13 | -45.8% | |
| 2024 | 23 | +76.9% | |
| 2025 | 11 | -52.2% |
For the 2 building fires Sleepy Eye departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 39 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 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 6 | 15.4% | |
| 2 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 5 | 12.8% | |
| 3 | Undetermined | 5 | 12.8% | |
| 4 | Other | 4 | 10.3% | |
| 5 | Outside area, other | 3 | 7.7% | |
| 6 | Common room, den, family room, living room, lounge | 2 | 5.1% | |
| 7 | Storage area, other | 2 | 5.1% | |
| 8 | Vehicle storage area; garage, carport | 2 | 5.1% | |
| 9 | Duct: hvac, cable, exhaust, heating, or AC | 2 | 5.1% | |
| 10 | Bathroom, checkroom, lavatory, locker room | 1 | 2.6% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 7 | 17.9% |
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 Sleepy Eye mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 8 | 20.5% | |
| 2 | Heat source: other | 6 | 15.4% | |
| 3 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 6 | 15.4% | |
| 4 | Arcing | 3 | 7.7% | |
| 5 | Hot ember or ash | 3 | 7.7% | |
| 6 | Heat, spark from friction | 2 | 5.1% | |
| 7 | Heat from other open flame or smoking materials | 2 | 5.1% | |
| 8 | Candle | 2 | 5.1% | |
| 9 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 1 | 2.6% | |
| 10 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 1 | 2.6% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 5 | 12.8% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Sleepy Eye departments in 2025. These 5 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $70,000 | Off-road vehicle or heavy equipment fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 2 | $45,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $5,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 4 | $500 | Camper or recreational vehicle (RV) fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 5 | $1 | Cultivated grain or crop fire | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Sleepy Eye sits below the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 5,438 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2006 | Arson/incendiarism | 2,909 | 46.6 mi | |
| 2012 | Debris and open burning | 400 | 46.4 mi | |
| 1996 | Arson/incendiarism | 290 | 39.8 mi | |
| 2009 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 180 | 35.5 mi | |
| 2004 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 152 | 46.5 mi | |
| 2003 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 150 | 26.3 mi | |
| 2000 | Debris and open burning | 127 | 36.1 mi | |
| 2012 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 124 | 47.5 mi | |
| 2009 | Debris and open burning | 113 | 48.6 mi | |
| 2014 | Arson/incendiarism | 108 | 39.8 mi | |
| 2000 | Debris and open burning | 96 | 35.4 mi | |
| 1994 | Debris and open burning | 95 | 32.6 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 | 56085 | 86 |
Six Minnesota cities with population within ±25% of Sleepy Eye. 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.