In 2025, fire departments serving Berlin responded to 90 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $1.0M 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 74% of all calls.
Mar peaks. Aug dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
308 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2025. $5.2M cumulative property loss. 3 civilian deaths.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 40 | — | |
| 2022 | 46 | +15.0% | |
| 2023 | 69 | +50.0% | |
| 2024 | 63 | -8.7% | |
| 2025 | 90 | +42.9% |
For the 37 building fires Berlin departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 80 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 | 29 | 36.2% | |
| 2 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 17 | 21.2% | |
| 3 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 15 | 18.8% | |
| 4 | Bedroom - < 5 persons; included are jail or prison | 2 | 2.5% | |
| 5 | Cooking area, kitchen | 2 | 2.5% | |
| 6 | Vehicle storage area; garage, carport | 2 | 2.5% | |
| 7 | Substructure area or space, crawl space | 2 | 2.5% | |
| 8 | Ceiling & floor assembly, crawl space b/t stories | 2 | 2.5% | |
| 9 | Wall surface: exterior | 2 | 2.5% | |
| 10 | Outside area, other | 2 | 2.5% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 5 | 6.2% |
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 Berlin mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 73 | 91.2% | |
| 2 | Hot ember or ash | 3 | 3.8% | |
| 3 | Arcing | 1 | 1.2% | |
| 4 | Heat, spark from friction | 1 | 1.2% | |
| 5 | Fireworks | 1 | 1.2% | |
| 6 | Flame/torch used for lighting | 1 | 1.2% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Berlin departments in 2025. These 8 fires alone account for 99% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $1,000,000 | Building fires | Major | Investigated |
| 2 | $500,000 | Building fires | Major | Investigated |
| 3 | $430,000 | Building fires | Major | Investigated |
| 4 | $250,000 | Building fires | Major | Investigated |
| 5 | $60,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 6 | $60,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 7 | $20,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 8 | $15,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Berlin sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 13,087 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2005 | Debris and open burning | 3,410 | 40.9 mi | |
| 1994 | Arson/incendiarism | 1,015 | 30.2 mi | |
| 2014 | Debris and open burning | 829 | 20.2 mi | |
| 1998 | Equipment and vehicle use | 630 | 20.1 mi | |
| 2006 | Debris and open burning | 612 | 27.9 mi | |
| 2003 | Debris and open burning | 572 | 19.2 mi | |
| 2003 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 508 | 26.6 mi | |
| 2003 | Arson/incendiarism | 484 | 31.8 mi | |
| 2003 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 400 | 16.2 mi | |
| 2019 | Arson/incendiarism | 385 | 17.6 mi | |
| 2015 | Railroad operations and maintenance | 366 | 24.5 mi | |
| 2014 | Debris and open burning | 364 | 33.4 mi |
Top 4 ZIP codes by NFIRS incident count across 2021–2025. Each ZIP has its own fire profile — dive in for neighborhood-level context.
Six Wisconsin cities with population within ±25% of Berlin. 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.