In 2025, fire departments serving Sumner responded to 29 fire and hazmat incidents . Here's the full picture.
Grass fire lead by count. Building fires lead by dollars. Together the top five categories make up about 76% of all calls.
Mar peaks. Feb dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
115 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2025. $347K cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 20 | — | |
| 2022 | 23 | +15.0% | |
| 2023 | 22 | -4.3% | |
| 2024 | 21 | -4.5% | |
| 2025 | 29 | +38.1% |
For the 4 building fires Sumner departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 48 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 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 12 | 25.0% | |
| 2 | Undetermined | 11 | 22.9% | |
| 3 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 6 | 12.5% | |
| 4 | Bedroom - < 5 persons; included are jail or prison | 2 | 4.2% | |
| 5 | Outside area, other | 2 | 4.2% | |
| 6 | Highway, parking lot, street: on or near | 2 | 4.2% | |
| 7 | Other | 1 | 2.1% | |
| 8 | Storage area, other | 1 | 2.1% | |
| 9 | Vehicle storage area; garage, carport | 1 | 2.1% | |
| 10 | Duct: hvac, cable, exhaust, heating, or AC | 1 | 2.1% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 9 | 18.8% |
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 Sumner mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 14 | 29.2% | |
| 2 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 5 | 10.4% | |
| 3 | Heat source: other | 4 | 8.3% | |
| 4 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 4 | 8.3% | |
| 5 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 3 | 6.2% | |
| 6 | Arcing | 3 | 6.2% | |
| 7 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 3 | 6.2% | |
| 8 | Heat spread from another fire, other | 3 | 6.2% | |
| 9 | Flying brand, ember, spark | 2 | 4.2% | |
| 10 | Molten, hot material | 1 | 2.1% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 6 | 12.5% |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Sumner sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 3,950 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2015 | Debris and open burning | 750 | 19.6 mi | |
| 2015 | Debris and open burning | 500 | 20.6 mi | |
| 2018 | Debris and open burning | 300 | 38.0 mi | |
| 2018 | Debris and open burning | 300 | 40.5 mi | |
| 2014 | Debris and open burning | 200 | 42.4 mi | |
| 2015 | Debris and open burning | 160 | 47.0 mi | |
| 2014 | Debris and open burning | 150 | 33.7 mi | |
| 2018 | Debris and open burning | 150 | 29.5 mi | |
| 2009 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 140 | 18.5 mi | |
| 2015 | Equipment and vehicle use | 120 | 14.4 mi | |
| 2010 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 100 | 26.1 mi | |
| 2010 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 100 | 21.9 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 | 50674 | 115 |
Six Iowa cities with population within ±25% of Sumner. 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.