In 2025, fire departments serving Zumbrota responded to 25 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $150K building blaze. Here's the full picture.
Cooking fire, confined to container lead by count. Building fires lead by dollars. Together the top five categories make up about 76% of all calls.
Apr peaks. Feb dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
106 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2025. $855K cumulative property loss. 1 civilian deaths.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 22 | — | |
| 2022 | 23 | +4.5% | |
| 2023 | 23 | +0.0% | |
| 2024 | 13 | -43.5% | |
| 2025 | 25 | +92.3% |
For the 4 building fires Zumbrota departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 45 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 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 13 | 28.9% | |
| 2 | Undetermined | 6 | 13.3% | |
| 3 | Function area, other | 2 | 4.4% | |
| 4 | Bedroom - < 5 persons; included are jail or prison | 2 | 4.4% | |
| 5 | Vehicle storage area; garage, carport | 2 | 4.4% | |
| 6 | Machinery room or area; elevator machinery room | 2 | 4.4% | |
| 7 | Exterior balcony, unenclosed porch | 2 | 4.4% | |
| 8 | Attic: vacant, crawl space above top story, cupola | 2 | 4.4% | |
| 9 | Cargo/trunk area - all vehicles | 2 | 4.4% | |
| 10 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 2 | 4.4% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 10 | 22.2% |
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 Zumbrota mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 22 | 48.9% | |
| 2 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 5 | 11.1% | |
| 3 | Arcing | 3 | 6.7% | |
| 4 | Heat source: other | 2 | 4.4% | |
| 5 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 2 | 4.4% | |
| 6 | Hot ember or ash | 2 | 4.4% | |
| 7 | Match | 2 | 4.4% | |
| 8 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 1 | 2.2% | |
| 9 | Heat, spark from friction | 1 | 2.2% | |
| 10 | Chemical, natural heat source, other | 1 | 2.2% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 4 | 8.9% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Zumbrota departments in 2025. These 8 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $150,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 2 | $100,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $80,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 4 | $5,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 5 | $2,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 6 | $1,200 | Cooking fire, confined to container | Significant | Investigated |
| 7 | $1,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 8 | $1,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Zumbrota sits below the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 3,305 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2004 | Recreation and ceremony | 1,000 | 45.6 mi | |
| 1998 | Arson/incendiarism | 295 | 36.8 mi | |
| 2009 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 225 | 38.7 mi | |
| 1995 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 200 | 46.0 mi | |
| 2009 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 200 | 46.2 mi | |
| 2000 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 180 | 49.1 mi | |
| 2000 | Arson/incendiarism | 120 | 46.1 mi | |
| 2007 | Debris and open burning | 100 | 43.3 mi | |
| 2000 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 83 | 24.9 mi | |
| 1993 | Arson/incendiarism | 83 | 37.4 mi | |
| 1992 | Equipment and vehicle use | 80 | 44.2 mi | |
| 2000 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 80 | 29.6 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 | 55992 | 106 |
Six Minnesota cities with population within ±25% of Zumbrota. 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.