In 2025, fire departments serving Story City responded to 33 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $50K building blaze. Here's the full picture.
Carbon monoxide incident lead by count. Building fires lead by dollars. Together the top five categories make up about 61% of all calls.
Mar peaks. May dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
148 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2024. $594K cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 20 | — | |
| 2022 | 29 | +45.0% | |
| 2023 | 28 | -3.4% | |
| 2024 | 38 | +35.7% | |
| 2025 | 33 | -13.2% |
For the 3 building fires Story City departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 56 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 | 14 | 25.0% | |
| 2 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 11 | 19.6% | |
| 3 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 9 | 16.1% | |
| 4 | Vehicle area, other | 7 | 12.5% | |
| 5 | Outside area, other | 6 | 10.7% | |
| 6 | Function area, other | 2 | 3.6% | |
| 7 | Highway, parking lot, street: on or near | 2 | 3.6% | |
| 8 | Laundry area, wash house (laundry) | 1 | 1.8% | |
| 9 | Equipment or service area, other | 1 | 1.8% | |
| 10 | Heating room or area, water heater area | 1 | 1.8% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 2 | 3.6% |
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 Story City mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 31 | 55.4% | |
| 2 | Heat spread from another fire, other | 6 | 10.7% | |
| 3 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 4 | 7.1% | |
| 4 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 3 | 5.4% | |
| 5 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 3 | 5.4% | |
| 6 | Heat, spark from friction | 3 | 5.4% | |
| 7 | Heat source: other | 2 | 3.6% | |
| 8 | Arcing | 1 | 1.8% | |
| 9 | Heat from other open flame or smoking materials | 1 | 1.8% | |
| 10 | Flame/torch used for lighting | 1 | 1.8% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 1 | 1.8% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Story City departments in 2025. These 5 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $50,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 2 | $30,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $10,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 4 | $7,000 | Road freight or transport vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 5 | $5,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Story City sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 3,297 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2017 | Equipment and vehicle use | 700 | 28.4 mi | |
| 2004 | Debris and open burning | 400 | 47.5 mi | |
| 2004 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 175 | 49.7 mi | |
| 2010 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 160 | 14.4 mi | |
| 2004 | Debris and open burning | 150 | 48.1 mi | |
| 2011 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 120 | 36.5 mi | |
| 2013 | Debris and open burning | 100 | 30.5 mi | |
| 2014 | Debris and open burning | 100 | 28.5 mi | |
| 1996 | Debris and open burning | 100 | 48.1 mi | |
| 2014 | Natural | 100 | 9.8 mi | |
| 2019 | Debris and open burning | 100 | 25.4 mi | |
| 2015 | Debris and open burning | 97 | 49.4 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 | 50248 | 148 |
Six Iowa cities with population within ±25% of Story City. 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.