In 2025, fire departments serving Amery responded to 63 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $85K 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 51% of all calls.
Apr peaks. Feb dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
225 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2025. $1.4M cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 33 | — | |
| 2022 | 48 | +45.5% | |
| 2023 | 52 | +8.3% | |
| 2024 | 29 | -44.2% | |
| 2025 | 63 | +117.2% |
For the 9 building fires Amery departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 70 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 | 23 | 32.9% | |
| 2 | Vehicle storage area; garage, carport | 6 | 8.6% | |
| 3 | Vehicle area, other | 6 | 8.6% | |
| 4 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 5 | 7.1% | |
| 5 | Other | 4 | 5.7% | |
| 6 | Cooking area, kitchen | 4 | 5.7% | |
| 7 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 4 | 5.7% | |
| 8 | Outside area, other | 4 | 5.7% | |
| 9 | Common room, den, family room, living room, lounge | 3 | 4.3% | |
| 10 | Storage area, other | 2 | 2.9% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 9 | 12.9% |
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 Amery mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 32 | 45.7% | |
| 2 | Heat source: other | 12 | 17.1% | |
| 3 | Arcing | 7 | 10.0% | |
| 4 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 5 | 7.1% | |
| 5 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 3 | 4.3% | |
| 6 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 2 | 2.9% | |
| 7 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 1 | 1.4% | |
| 8 | Heat, spark from friction | 1 | 1.4% | |
| 9 | Molten, hot material | 1 | 1.4% | |
| 10 | Explosive, fireworks, other | 1 | 1.4% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 5 | 7.1% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Amery departments in 2025. These 7 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $85,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 2 | $40,000 | Fire in mobile home used as fixed residence | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $30,000 | Fire in mobile home used as fixed residence | Significant | Investigated |
| 4 | $25,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 5 | $10,000 | Mobile property (vehicle) fire, other | Significant | Investigated |
| 6 | $5,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 7 | $3,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Amery sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 17,378 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | Debris and open burning | 8,513 | 37.3 mi | |
| 2009 | Arson/incendiarism | 2,550 | 36.5 mi | |
| 2000 | Debris and open burning | 1,350 | 48.3 mi | |
| 2013 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 656 | 40.5 mi | |
| 2000 | Smoking | 420 | 39.3 mi | |
| 2009 | Fireworks | 390 | 42.4 mi | |
| 2010 | Equipment and vehicle use | 336 | 44.5 mi | |
| 1999 | Railroad operations and maintenance | 306 | 45.3 mi | |
| 2005 | Debris and open burning | 260 | 22.5 mi | |
| 2004 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 250 | 42.3 mi | |
| 2004 | Arson/incendiarism | 250 | 49.7 mi | |
| 2007 | Recreation and ceremony | 248 | 34.9 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 | 54001 | 225 |
Six Wisconsin cities with population within ±25% of Amery. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
2 departments report to NFIRS for incidents in Amery.
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.