In 2025, fire departments serving Bangor responded to 14 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $5K building blaze. Here's the full picture.
Authorized controlled burning lead by count. Building fires lead by dollars. Together the top five categories make up about 71% of all calls.
Apr peaks. Feb dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
110 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2021. $993K cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 33 | — | |
| 2022 | 22 | -33.3% | |
| 2023 | 18 | -18.2% | |
| 2024 | 23 | +27.8% | |
| 2025 | 14 | -39.1% |
For the 1 building fires Bangor departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 37 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 | 6 | 16.2% | |
| 2 | Outside area, other | 6 | 16.2% | |
| 3 | Undetermined | 5 | 13.5% | |
| 4 | Storage area, other | 4 | 10.8% | |
| 5 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 4 | 10.8% | |
| 6 | Laundry area, wash house (laundry) | 2 | 5.4% | |
| 7 | Structural area, other | 2 | 5.4% | |
| 8 | Highway, parking lot, street: on or near | 2 | 5.4% | |
| 9 | Cooking area, kitchen | 1 | 2.7% | |
| 10 | Equipment or service area, other | 1 | 2.7% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 4 | 10.8% |
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 Bangor mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Hot ember or ash | 9 | 24.3% | |
| 2 | Undetermined | 9 | 24.3% | |
| 3 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 3 | 8.1% | |
| 4 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 3 | 8.1% | |
| 5 | Arcing | 3 | 8.1% | |
| 6 | Heat, spark from friction | 2 | 5.4% | |
| 7 | Flame/torch used for lighting | 2 | 5.4% | |
| 8 | Lightning | 2 | 5.4% | |
| 9 | Heat source: other | 1 | 2.7% | |
| 10 | Cigarette lighter | 1 | 2.7% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 2 | 5.4% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Bangor departments in 2025. These 3 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $5,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 2 | $4,500 | Brush, or brush and grass mixture fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $2,500 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Bangor sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 4,504 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | Arson/incendiarism | 1,200 | 27.3 mi | |
| 2003 | Debris and open burning | 384 | 41.3 mi | |
| 2000 | Debris and open burning | 360 | 20.3 mi | |
| 2015 | Railroad operations and maintenance | 337 | 44.4 mi | |
| 2020 | Recreation and ceremony | 234 | 45.1 mi | |
| 2012 | Equipment and vehicle use | 195 | 18.3 mi | |
| 2012 | Equipment and vehicle use | 166 | 30.1 mi | |
| 1992 | Equipment and vehicle use | 161 | 43.6 mi | |
| 2007 | Recreation and ceremony | 159 | 25.9 mi | |
| 1999 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 124 | 29.5 mi | |
| 2005 | Debris and open burning | 112 | 42.4 mi | |
| 2003 | Debris and open burning | 104 | 33.8 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 | 54614 | 110 |
Six Wisconsin cities with population within ±25% of Bangor. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
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.