Home› South Dakota› Woonsocket
2025 Annual Fire Report

Fires in Woonsocket, South Dakota

In 2025, fire departments serving Woonsocket responded to 10 fire and hazmat incidents . Here's the full picture.

Updated Sep 27, 2026 Grade B Peak yr 2022 Sanborn County 710 residents 1 reporting departments 53 5-yr
Total incidents
10
+0.0% vs 2024
Building fires
3
Residential 67% Other 33%
Property loss
$0
$0 structure · $0 contents
Deaths & injuries
0 / 0
0 civilian deaths · 0 civ injuries · 0 firefighter injuries
01 The mix

What kinds of fires happen here?

Building fires lead by count. Building fires lead by dollars. Together the top five categories make up about 90% of all calls.

10
Total Incidents
Building fires 3 30.0%
Outside rubbish, trash or waste fire 3 30.0%
Trash or rubbish fire, contained 1 10.0%
Passenger vehicle fire 1 10.0%
Off-road vehicle or heavy equipment fire 1 10.0%
All other categories 1 10.0%
02 Seasonality

When do fires happen?

Mar peaks. Jan dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.

Jan 0
Feb 1
Mar 2
Apr 1
May 2
Jun 0
Jul 1
Aug 1
Sep 1
Oct 1
Nov 0
Dec 0
Fewer
More
2b Five-year trend

Year over year in Woonsocket

53 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2022.

YearIncidentsYoY 
2021 10 —
2022 13 +30.0%
2023 10 -23.1%
2024 10 +0.0%
2025 10 +0.0%
03 Cause of ignition

What sparks building fires?

For the 3 building fires Woonsocket departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.

Unintentional
57%
4
Cause undetermined
14%
1
Intentional / arson
14%
1
Equipment / heat source failure
0%
0
Under investigation
0%
0
Act of nature (lightning)
15%
1
3b Where fires start

Where do fires start in Woonsocket?

NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 27 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 originCountShare 
1 Undetermined 10 37.0%
2 Open area - outside; included are farmland, field 5 18.5%
3 Outside area, other 3 11.1%
4 Bedroom - < 5 persons; included are jail or prison 2 7.4%
5 Engine area, running gear, wheel area 2 7.4%
6 Exterior stairway, ramp, or fire escape 1 3.7%
7 Cooking area, kitchen 1 3.7%
8 Substructure area or space, crawl space 1 3.7%
9 Vehicle area, other 1 3.7%
10 Operator/passenger area of transportation equip. 1 3.7%
3c What ignited it

What actually ignited the fire?

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 Woonsocket mix.

#Heat sourceCountShare 
1 Undetermined 21 77.8%
2 Chemical reaction 2 7.4%
3 Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment 1 3.7%
4 Heat, spark from friction 1 3.7%
5 Hot ember or ash 1 3.7%
6 Lightning 1 3.7%
05 How Woonsocket compares

Woonsocket vs South Dakota vs the nation

Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Woonsocket sits above the national average for incidents per resident.

14.08
Incidents per 1,000 residents
Woonsocket
14.08
SD avg
5.75
US avg
7.48
4.23
Building fires per 1,000 residents
Woonsocket
4.23
SD avg
0.72
US avg
0.85
0
Civilian fire deaths per million
Woonsocket
0
SD avg
7.1
US avg
5.9
5c Wildfires nearby

Wildfires within 50 mi of Woonsocket

Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 28,562 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.

50 mi radius
YearCauseAcresDistance 
2002 Equipment and vehicle use 7,000 17.7 mi
2000 Other causes 5,000 36.1 mi
2012 Missing data/not specified/undetermined 2,300 44.9 mi
2012 Missing data/not specified/undetermined 1,600 34.8 mi
2009 Debris and open burning 1,250 23.3 mi
2011 Missing data/not specified/undetermined 1,200 47.6 mi
2000 Other causes 1,200 6.6 mi
2002 Equipment and vehicle use 1,000 20.0 mi
2006 Equipment and vehicle use 750 21.1 mi
2006 Equipment and vehicle use 700 21.1 mi
2012 Missing data/not specified/undetermined 670 49.1 mi
2003 Debris and open burning 620 19.4 mi
5d Top ZIPs

Where in Woonsocket do fires concentrate?

Top 1 ZIP codes by NFIRS incident count across 2021–2025. Each ZIP has its own fire profile — dive in for neighborhood-level context.

#ZIP5-yr incidents 
1 57385 53
5e Peer cities

Cities similar to Woonsocket

Six South Dakota cities with population within ±25% of Woonsocket. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.

06 First responders

Who responds in Woonsocket?

1 departments report to NFIRS for incidents in Woonsocket.

Woonsocket
FDID 56001Volunteer
07 Stay prepared

Before the next Red Flag day.

A 30-minute weekend can cut your home's exposure substantially. These four checklists are a good starting point.

About this data

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.