In 2025, fire departments serving Warroad responded to 17 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $856K 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 100% of all calls.
Jun peaks. Mar dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
102 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2023. $1.8M cumulative property loss. 2 civilian deaths.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 22 | — | |
| 2022 | 17 | -22.7% | |
| 2023 | 25 | +47.1% | |
| 2024 | 21 | -16.0% | |
| 2025 | 17 | -19.0% |
For the 6 building fires Warroad departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 49 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 | 33 | 67.3% | |
| 2 | Wall assembly | 3 | 6.1% | |
| 3 | Wall surface: exterior | 3 | 6.1% | |
| 4 | Assembly or sales area, other | 1 | 2.0% | |
| 5 | Function area, other | 1 | 2.0% | |
| 6 | Cooking area, kitchen | 1 | 2.0% | |
| 7 | Exterior balcony, unenclosed porch | 1 | 2.0% | |
| 8 | Ceiling & floor assembly, crawl space b/t stories | 1 | 2.0% | |
| 9 | Attic: vacant, crawl space above top story, cupola | 1 | 2.0% | |
| 10 | Cargo/trunk area - all vehicles | 1 | 2.0% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 3 | 6.1% |
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 Warroad mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 43 | 87.8% | |
| 2 | Heat source: other | 2 | 4.1% | |
| 3 | Arcing | 2 | 4.1% | |
| 4 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 1 | 2.0% | |
| 5 | Hot ember or ash | 1 | 2.0% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Warroad departments in 2025. These 7 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $856,170 | Building fires | Major | Investigated |
| 2 | $1,000 | Trash or rubbish fire, contained | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $1 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 4 | $1 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 5 | $1 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 6 | $1 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 7 | $1 | Grass fire | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Warroad sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 88,549 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2012 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 25,396 | 38.6 mi | |
| 2003 | Debris and open burning | 15,000 | 40.1 mi | |
| 1998 | Arson/incendiarism | 5,140 | 38.9 mi | |
| 2015 | Debris and open burning | 4,550 | 18.4 mi | |
| 1994 | Arson/incendiarism | 3,800 | 41.7 mi | |
| 2007 | Arson/incendiarism | 3,536 | 47.3 mi | |
| 2002 | Arson/incendiarism | 3,020 | 39.1 mi | |
| 1993 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 2,500 | 37.5 mi | |
| 2007 | Arson/incendiarism | 2,377 | 40.6 mi | |
| 1995 | Arson/incendiarism | 2,360 | 41.3 mi | |
| 2003 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 2,150 | 44.9 mi | |
| 2000 | Arson/incendiarism | 2,020 | 41.2 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 | 56763 | 102 |
Six Minnesota cities with population within ±25% of Warroad. 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.