In 2025, fire departments serving Avoca responded to 10 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $30K building blaze. Here's the full picture.
Forest, woods or wildland fire lead by count. Building fires lead by dollars. Together the top five categories make up about 90% of all calls.
Mar peaks. Jan dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
36 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2025. $173K cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 6 | — | |
| 2022 | 5 | -16.7% | |
| 2023 | 7 | +40.0% | |
| 2024 | 8 | +14.3% | |
| 2025 | 10 | +25.0% |
For the 2 building fires Avoca departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 8 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 | 2 | 25.0% | |
| 2 | Cooking area, kitchen | 1 | 12.5% | |
| 3 | Vehicle storage area; garage, carport | 1 | 12.5% | |
| 4 | Operator/passenger area of transportation equip. | 1 | 12.5% | |
| 5 | Exterior, exposed surface | 1 | 12.5% | |
| 6 | Highway, parking lot, street: on or near | 1 | 12.5% | |
| 7 | Undetermined | 1 | 12.5% |
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 Avoca mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 3 | 37.5% | |
| 2 | Arcing | 2 | 25.0% | |
| 3 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 1 | 12.5% | |
| 4 | Heat, spark from friction | 1 | 12.5% | |
| 5 | Hot ember or ash | 1 | 12.5% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Avoca departments in 2025. These 1 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $30,000 | Mobile property (vehicle) fire, other | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Avoca sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 4,127 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1999 | Arson/incendiarism | 1,400 | 1.9 mi | |
| 2009 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 617 | 49.5 mi | |
| 2015 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 189 | 28.7 mi | |
| 2018 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 165 | 48.3 mi | |
| 2000 | Railroad operations and maintenance | 140 | 41.8 mi | |
| 2018 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 130 | 20.6 mi | |
| 2018 | Debris and open burning | 125 | 24.5 mi | |
| 2003 | Debris and open burning | 104 | 25.4 mi | |
| 2009 | Power generation/transmission/distribution | 100 | 17.0 mi | |
| 2018 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 100 | 40.1 mi | |
| 2004 | Debris and open burning | 88 | 28.8 mi | |
| 1995 | Smoking | 84 | 31.1 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 | 53506 | 36 |
Six Wisconsin cities with population within ±25% of Avoca. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
1 departments report to NFIRS for incidents in Avoca.
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.