In 2025, fire departments serving Victoria responded to 46 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $487K building blaze. Here's the full picture.
Gas leak (natural gas or LPG) lead by count. Building fires lead by dollars. Together the top five categories make up about 87% of all calls.
Jun peaks. Dec dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
173 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2025. $1.2M cumulative property loss. 3 civilian deaths.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 30 | — | |
| 2022 | 28 | -6.7% | |
| 2023 | 26 | -7.1% | |
| 2024 | 43 | +65.4% | |
| 2025 | 46 | +7.0% |
For the 8 building fires Victoria departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 18 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 | Wall surface: exterior | 3 | 16.7% | |
| 2 | Outside area, other | 2 | 11.1% | |
| 3 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 2 | 11.1% | |
| 4 | Undetermined | 2 | 11.1% | |
| 5 | Cooking area, kitchen | 1 | 5.6% | |
| 6 | Closet | 1 | 5.6% | |
| 7 | Storage: supplies or tools; dead storage | 1 | 5.6% | |
| 8 | Vehicle storage area; garage, carport | 1 | 5.6% | |
| 9 | Equipment or service area, other | 1 | 5.6% | |
| 10 | Wall assembly | 1 | 5.6% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 3 | 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 Victoria mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 6 | 33.3% | |
| 2 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 3 | 16.7% | |
| 3 | Hot ember or ash | 3 | 16.7% | |
| 4 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 1 | 5.6% | |
| 5 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 1 | 5.6% | |
| 6 | Arcing | 1 | 5.6% | |
| 7 | Cigarette | 1 | 5.6% | |
| 8 | Cigarette lighter | 1 | 5.6% | |
| 9 | Flame/torch used for lighting | 1 | 5.6% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Victoria departments in 2025. These 4 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $487,027 | Building fires | Major | Investigated |
| 2 | $105,525 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $25,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 4 | $5,000 | Dumpster or other outside trash receptacle fire | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Victoria sits below the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 21,351 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 | 40.4 mi | |
| 2006 | Arson/incendiarism | 2,909 | 43.7 mi | |
| 2009 | Arson/incendiarism | 2,550 | 39.5 mi | |
| 1996 | Debris and open burning | 1,299 | 41.4 mi | |
| 2004 | Recreation and ceremony | 1,000 | 21.5 mi | |
| 2000 | Smoking | 420 | 43.4 mi | |
| 2012 | Debris and open burning | 400 | 38.0 mi | |
| 2010 | Equipment and vehicle use | 336 | 35.0 mi | |
| 1995 | Debris and open burning | 320 | 44.2 mi | |
| 1999 | Railroad operations and maintenance | 306 | 33.0 mi | |
| 1996 | Arson/incendiarism | 290 | 38.6 mi | |
| 2010 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 280 | 48.8 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 Victoria. 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.