In 2025, fire departments serving Watertown responded to 39 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $150K 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 69% of all calls.
Aug peaks. Feb dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
202 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2022. $669K cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 35 | — | |
| 2022 | 51 | +45.7% | |
| 2023 | 42 | -17.6% | |
| 2024 | 35 | -16.7% | |
| 2025 | 39 | +11.4% |
For the 8 building fires Watertown departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 26 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 | 4 | 15.4% | |
| 2 | Heating room or area, water heater area | 3 | 11.5% | |
| 3 | Cooking area, kitchen | 2 | 7.7% | |
| 4 | Laundry area, wash house (laundry) | 2 | 7.7% | |
| 5 | Wall surface: exterior | 2 | 7.7% | |
| 6 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 2 | 7.7% | |
| 7 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 2 | 7.7% | |
| 8 | Other | 1 | 3.8% | |
| 9 | Function area, other | 1 | 3.8% | |
| 10 | Bedroom - < 5 persons; included are jail or prison | 1 | 3.8% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 6 | 23.1% |
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 Watertown mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 6 | 23.1% | |
| 2 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 4 | 15.4% | |
| 3 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 4 | 15.4% | |
| 4 | Arcing | 4 | 15.4% | |
| 5 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 3 | 11.5% | |
| 6 | Heat source: other | 1 | 3.8% | |
| 7 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 1 | 3.8% | |
| 8 | Hot ember or ash | 1 | 3.8% | |
| 9 | Heat from other open flame or smoking materials | 1 | 3.8% | |
| 10 | Cigarette | 1 | 3.8% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Watertown departments in 2025. These 4 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $150,150 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 2 | $15,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $1,000 | Outside equipment fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 4 | $1 | Fires in structures other than in a building | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Watertown sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 18,702 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 | 42.5 mi | |
| 2009 | Arson/incendiarism | 2,550 | 42.1 mi | |
| 1996 | Debris and open burning | 1,299 | 35.8 mi | |
| 2004 | Recreation and ceremony | 1,000 | 31.7 mi | |
| 2000 | Smoking | 420 | 44.3 mi | |
| 2012 | Debris and open burning | 400 | 44.3 mi | |
| 2010 | Equipment and vehicle use | 336 | 35.9 mi | |
| 1995 | Debris and open burning | 320 | 37.3 mi | |
| 1999 | Railroad operations and maintenance | 306 | 34.1 mi | |
| 1996 | Arson/incendiarism | 290 | 43.3 mi | |
| 2010 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 280 | 43.0 mi | |
| 2020 | Debris and open burning | 260 | 49.8 mi |
Top 2 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 Watertown. 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.