In 2025, fire departments serving Appleton responded to 18 fire and hazmat incidents . Here's the full picture.
Building fires lead by count. Building fires lead by dollars. Together the top five categories make up about 89% of all calls.
Jun peaks. Feb dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
95 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2024.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 15 | — | |
| 2022 | 20 | +33.3% | |
| 2023 | 17 | -15.0% | |
| 2024 | 25 | +47.1% | |
| 2025 | 18 | -28.0% |
For the 9 building fires Appleton departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 2 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 | Bedroom - < 5 persons; included are jail or prison | 1 | 50.0% | |
| 2 | Undetermined | 1 | 50.0% |
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 Appleton mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Arcing | 1 | 50.0% | |
| 2 | Undetermined | 1 | 50.0% |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Appleton sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 749 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2001 | Debris and open burning | 77 | 13.6 mi | |
| 2002 | Recreation and ceremony | 57 | 18.9 mi | |
| 1992 | Debris and open burning | 50 | 38.7 mi | |
| 2015 | Debris and open burning | 48 | 5.1 mi | |
| 2003 | Debris and open burning | 40 | 46.5 mi | |
| 1995 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 40 | 27.5 mi | |
| 1997 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 40 | 47.9 mi | |
| 2016 | Misuse of fire by a minor | 35 | 16.6 mi | |
| 1999 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 33 | 33.0 mi | |
| 2013 | Arson/incendiarism | 32 | 46.3 mi | |
| 2005 | Debris and open burning | 32 | 49.4 mi | |
| 1992 | Debris and open burning | 29 | 42.4 mi |
Top 2 ZIP codes by NFIRS incident count across 2021–2025. Each ZIP has its own fire profile — dive in for neighborhood-level context.
Six Maine cities with population within ±25% of Appleton. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
1 departments report to NFIRS for incidents in Appleton.
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.