In 2025, fire departments serving Bloomer responded to 51 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $500K 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 67% of all calls.
Mar peaks. Apr dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
246 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2021. $4.6M cumulative property loss. 2 civilian deaths.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 58 | — | |
| 2022 | 47 | -19.0% | |
| 2023 | 34 | -27.7% | |
| 2024 | 56 | +64.7% | |
| 2025 | 51 | -8.9% |
For the 14 building fires Bloomer 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 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 19 | 27.1% | |
| 2 | Undetermined | 18 | 25.7% | |
| 3 | Structural area, other | 7 | 10.0% | |
| 4 | Storage area, other | 5 | 7.1% | |
| 5 | Vehicle area, other | 3 | 4.3% | |
| 6 | Outside area, other | 3 | 4.3% | |
| 7 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 3 | 4.3% | |
| 8 | Ceiling & floor assembly, crawl space b/t stories | 2 | 2.9% | |
| 9 | Wall surface: exterior | 2 | 2.9% | |
| 10 | Cargo/trunk area - all vehicles | 2 | 2.9% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 6 | 8.6% |
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 Bloomer mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 30 | 42.9% | |
| 2 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 15 | 21.4% | |
| 3 | Hot ember or ash | 9 | 12.9% | |
| 4 | Lightning | 5 | 7.1% | |
| 5 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 2 | 2.9% | |
| 6 | Heat, spark from friction | 2 | 2.9% | |
| 7 | Chemical, natural heat source, other | 2 | 2.9% | |
| 8 | Heat source: other | 1 | 1.4% | |
| 9 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 1 | 1.4% | |
| 10 | Cigarette | 1 | 1.4% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 2 | 2.9% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Bloomer departments in 2025. These 8 fires alone account for 99% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $500,000 | Building fires | Major | Investigated |
| 2 | $500,000 | Fires in structures other than in a building | Major | Investigated |
| 3 | $500,000 | Fires in structures other than in a building | Major | Investigated |
| 4 | $40,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 5 | $30,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 6 | $20,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 7 | $15,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 8 | $10,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Bloomer sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 2,823 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1994 | Recreation and ceremony | 553 | 35.5 mi | |
| 2009 | Fireworks | 390 | 21.2 mi | |
| 1998 | Recreation and ceremony | 250 | 35.9 mi | |
| 2003 | Debris and open burning | 148 | 25.8 mi | |
| 1998 | Arson/incendiarism | 140 | 40.8 mi | |
| 2018 | Debris and open burning | 124 | 30.3 mi | |
| 2012 | Debris and open burning | 123 | 44.1 mi | |
| 2018 | Debris and open burning | 122 | 30.3 mi | |
| 2003 | Recreation and ceremony | 113 | 39.0 mi | |
| 2018 | Arson/incendiarism | 104 | 44.2 mi | |
| 1993 | Arson/incendiarism | 75 | 27.5 mi | |
| 1996 | Debris and open burning | 69 | 45.7 mi |
Top 3 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 Bloomer. 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.