ZIP 52501 recorded 399 fire and hazmat incidents in 2025, 1,611 across 2021–2025. Primary county: Wapello County, IA. FEMA NRI rates wildfire risk here as High.
1,611 incidents from 2021 through 2025 inside this ZIP.
| Year | Incidents | |
|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 291 | |
| 2022 | 281 | |
| 2023 | 262 | |
| 2024 | 378 | |
| 2025 | 399 |
Mar peaks. Jan dips. Aggregated across all 5 years inside this ZIP.
Top 5 NFIRS incident types for ZIP 52501 across 2021–2025.
| # | Incident type | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Vehicle accident, general cleanup | 284 | 17.6% | |
| 2 | Building fires | 216 | 13.4% | |
| 3 | Outside rubbish, trash or waste fire | 193 | 12.0% | |
| 4 | Gas leak (natural gas or LPG) | 108 | 6.7% | |
| 5 | Passenger vehicle fire | 107 | 6.6% |
For the 61 building fires reported here in 2025, here's how investigators classified ignition cause.
NFIRS Area of Origin for ZIP 52501 fires across 2021–2025.
| # | Area of origin | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 113 | 27.4% | |
| 2 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 46 | 11.2% | |
| 3 | Outside area, other | 37 | 9.0% | |
| 4 | Cooking area, kitchen | 25 | 6.1% | |
| 5 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 16 | 3.9% | |
| 6 | Vehicle storage area; garage, carport | 14 | 3.4% | |
| 7 | Attic: vacant, crawl space above top story, cupola | 14 | 3.4% | |
| 8 | Vehicle area, other | 13 | 3.2% | |
| 9 | All other areas | 134 | 32.5% |
NFIRS HEAT_SOURC code — the physical thing that started the fire.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 218 | 52.9% | |
| 2 | Arcing | 29 | 7.0% | |
| 3 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 25 | 6.1% | |
| 4 | Heat source: other | 17 | 4.1% | |
| 5 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 16 | 3.9% | |
| 6 | Hot ember or ash | 14 | 3.4% | |
| 7 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 13 | 3.2% | |
| 8 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 12 | 2.9% | |
| 9 | All other sources | 68 | 16.5% |
Largest single-incident losses in ZIP 52501 across 2021–2025. These 8 fires alone account for 263% of the ZIP's 2025 reported total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Year | Severity |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $1,500,000 | Building fires | 2022 | Major |
| 2 | $200,000 | Building fires | 2024 | Significant |
| 3 | $200,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | 2024 | Significant |
| 4 | $175,000 | Building fires | 2025 | Significant |
| 5 | $150,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | 2021 | Significant |
| 6 | $150,000 | Road freight or transport vehicle fire | 2021 | Significant |
| 7 | $150,000 | Off-road vehicle or heavy equipment fire | 2021 | Significant |
| 8 | $150,000 | Building fires | 2023 | Significant |
Some ZIPs span multiple cities. Ranked by 5-yr NFIRS incidents inside ZIP 52501.
| # | City | 5-yr incidents | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Ottumwa | 1,611 |
The figures above are historical. For today's air quality, fire-weather warnings, and active fires, go to the official sources.
NFIRS reports each fire incident with a 5-digit address ZIP. We aggregate those rows directly to produce ZIP-level totals — 1,611 incidents in this ZIP across 2021–2025. Building-fire breakdowns (Area of Origin, Heat Source, ignition cause) only count fires investigators classified beyond the basic incident report. Because NFIRS reporting is voluntary, totals are a strong indicator rather than a complete census.