Iowa
The State Fire Marshal publishes a fatality incident list, but keyed by city rather than county, and the public data collection is partial and not yet finalized at the county level.
Why this state isn't scored
The Fireground Index scores one comparable metric — the civilian fire-death rate — computed from exact per-county death counts and Census population. For Iowa, no public source provides those counts completely and unsuppressed for all 99 counties. Rather than publish estimated, partial, or suppressed figures, the state is shown here transparently.
Sources checked
| Source | What it provides |
|---|---|
| Iowa State Fire Marshal Division (Dept of Public Safety) | Publishes a per-incident fatality list at city granularity (no county field); statewide totals bundle firefighter line-of-duty deaths. |
| NASFM Fire Fatality Data Hub — Iowa | Populated but partial and unapproved: ~59 of 99 counties, most records still “submitted”. |
| Iowa HHS vital statistics / CDC WONDER | Residence-based and small-count suppressed. |
What failed the source gate
Every state must clear this public-source standard before it is scored:
- Public & authoritative (a state fire-marshal / fire-agency or primary record)
- County-level (or the jurisdiction's county-equivalents)
- Civilian fire deaths, incident-based (counted where the fire occurred; firefighter line-of-duty excluded)
- Exact counts — not rates, not statistically suppressed small cells
- All counties present, with zero-death counties verifiable (not ambiguous omission)
- A recent 5-year window, or a best-available clearly-labeled window
Not met for Iowa:
- County-level detail (incident list is city-keyed)
- All 99 counties, finalized (≈59 present, unapproved)
- Firefighter deaths excluded
What data would unlock scoring
A per-county civilian fire-death count table (all 99 counties, explicit zeros), firefighter line-of-duty excluded, for a recent window.
Could a records request unlock it?
Likely yes. A records request for the completed-investigation records aggregated to county, or NASFM finalizing the Iowa collection, would unlock scoring.
Relevant office: Iowa State Fire Marshal Division (515-725-6150 / fire.marshal@dps.state.ia.us)
Have this data? Help make Iowa scoreable.
If you work with a state fire marshal’s office, fire-service data program, or public-health agency and can share a complete, per-county civilian fire-death dataset, we will evaluate it against the public-source standard and — if it qualifies — publish a fully-cited scorecard for Iowa.
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