In 2025, fire departments serving Winthrop responded to 17 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $400K 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.
Apr peaks. May dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
70 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2024. $2.0M cumulative property loss. 1 civilian deaths.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 11 | — | |
| 2022 | 14 | +27.3% | |
| 2023 | 10 | -28.6% | |
| 2024 | 18 | +80.0% | |
| 2025 | 17 | -5.6% |
For the 8 building fires Winthrop departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 21 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 | 12 | 57.1% | |
| 2 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 2 | 9.5% | |
| 3 | Cooking area, kitchen | 1 | 4.8% | |
| 4 | Storage area, other | 1 | 4.8% | |
| 5 | Storage: supplies or tools; dead storage | 1 | 4.8% | |
| 6 | Vehicle storage area; garage, carport | 1 | 4.8% | |
| 7 | Attic: vacant, crawl space above top story, cupola | 1 | 4.8% | |
| 8 | Separate operator/control area of transportation | 1 | 4.8% | |
| 9 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 1 | 4.8% |
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 Winthrop mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 13 | 61.9% | |
| 2 | Arcing | 2 | 9.5% | |
| 3 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 1 | 4.8% | |
| 4 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 1 | 4.8% | |
| 5 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 1 | 4.8% | |
| 6 | Heat, spark from friction | 1 | 4.8% | |
| 7 | Hot ember or ash | 1 | 4.8% | |
| 8 | Chemical reaction | 1 | 4.8% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Winthrop departments in 2025. These 4 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $400,000 | Building fires | Major | Investigated |
| 2 | $400,000 | Building fires | Major | Investigated |
| 3 | $300,000 | Building fires | Major | Investigated |
| 4 | $125,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Winthrop sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 6,006 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2006 | Arson/incendiarism | 2,909 | 35.3 mi | |
| 2012 | Debris and open burning | 400 | 32.2 mi | |
| 1996 | Arson/incendiarism | 290 | 26.0 mi | |
| 2009 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 225 | 46.6 mi | |
| 2015 | Debris and open burning | 217 | 43.0 mi | |
| 2003 | Equipment and vehicle use | 200 | 26.8 mi | |
| 2009 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 180 | 16.8 mi | |
| 2003 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 150 | 24.2 mi | |
| 2009 | Debris and open burning | 144 | 48.0 mi | |
| 2012 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 124 | 30.8 mi | |
| 2009 | Debris and open burning | 113 | 33.8 mi | |
| 2014 | Arson/incendiarism | 108 | 47.0 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 | 55396 | 70 |
Six Minnesota cities with population within ±25% of Winthrop. 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.