In 2025, fire departments serving Winsted responded to 25 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $1.0M 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 84% of all calls.
Aug peaks. Jan dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
87 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2025. $1.3M cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 18 | — | |
| 2022 | 14 | -22.2% | |
| 2023 | 14 | +0.0% | |
| 2024 | 16 | +14.3% | |
| 2025 | 25 | +56.2% |
For the 9 building fires Winsted departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 19 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 | 3 | 15.8% | |
| 2 | Maintenance shop or area, paint shop or area | 2 | 10.5% | |
| 3 | Vehicle area, other | 2 | 10.5% | |
| 4 | Highway, parking lot, street: on or near | 2 | 10.5% | |
| 5 | Exterior stairway, ramp, or fire escape | 1 | 5.3% | |
| 6 | Common room, den, family room, living room, lounge | 1 | 5.3% | |
| 7 | Laundry area, wash house (laundry) | 1 | 5.3% | |
| 8 | Processing/manufacturing area, workroom | 1 | 5.3% | |
| 9 | Vehicle storage area; garage, carport | 1 | 5.3% | |
| 10 | Duct: hvac, cable, exhaust, heating, or AC | 1 | 5.3% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 4 | 21.1% |
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 Winsted mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 4 | 21.1% | |
| 2 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 3 | 15.8% | |
| 3 | Heat source: other | 2 | 10.5% | |
| 4 | Hot ember or ash | 2 | 10.5% | |
| 5 | Undetermined | 2 | 10.5% | |
| 6 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 1 | 5.3% | |
| 7 | Cigarette | 1 | 5.3% | |
| 8 | Cigarette lighter | 1 | 5.3% | |
| 9 | Backfire from internal combustion engine | 1 | 5.3% | |
| 10 | Chemical reaction | 1 | 5.3% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 1 | 5.3% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Winsted departments in 2025. These 3 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $1,000,000 | Building fires | Major | Investigated |
| 2 | $2,000 | Fires in structures other than in a building | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $100 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Winsted sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 7,680 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1996 | Debris and open burning | 1,299 | 39.6 mi | |
| 2004 | Recreation and ceremony | 1,000 | 41.4 mi | |
| 2012 | Debris and open burning | 400 | 45.9 mi | |
| 2010 | Equipment and vehicle use | 336 | 44.2 mi | |
| 2015 | Debris and open burning | 320 | 46.6 mi | |
| 1995 | Debris and open burning | 320 | 39.8 mi | |
| 1999 | Railroad operations and maintenance | 306 | 42.6 mi | |
| 1996 | Arson/incendiarism | 290 | 43.4 mi | |
| 2010 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 280 | 46.2 mi | |
| 2020 | Debris and open burning | 260 | 46.3 mi | |
| 2004 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 250 | 43.4 mi | |
| 1997 | Debris and open burning | 225 | 31.2 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 Winsted. 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.