In 2025, fire departments serving Bloomington responded to 18 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $35K 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 83% of all calls.
Feb peaks. Apr dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
54 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2025. $233K cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 7 | — | |
| 2022 | 9 | +28.6% | |
| 2023 | 8 | -11.1% | |
| 2024 | 12 | +50.0% | |
| 2025 | 18 | +50.0% |
For the 6 building fires Bloomington departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 31 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 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 9 | 29.0% | |
| 2 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 7 | 22.6% | |
| 3 | Wall surface: exterior | 3 | 9.7% | |
| 4 | Storage room, area, tank, or bin | 2 | 6.5% | |
| 5 | Highway, parking lot, street: on or near | 2 | 6.5% | |
| 6 | Bathroom, checkroom, lavatory, locker room | 1 | 3.2% | |
| 7 | Structural area, other | 1 | 3.2% | |
| 8 | Ceiling & floor assembly, crawl space b/t stories | 1 | 3.2% | |
| 9 | Cargo/trunk area - all vehicles | 1 | 3.2% | |
| 10 | Fuel tank, fuel line | 1 | 3.2% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 3 | 9.7% |
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 Bloomington mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 10 | 32.3% | |
| 2 | Match | 6 | 19.4% | |
| 3 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 3 | 9.7% | |
| 4 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 3 | 9.7% | |
| 5 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 2 | 6.5% | |
| 6 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 2 | 6.5% | |
| 7 | Arcing | 1 | 3.2% | |
| 8 | Backfire from internal combustion engine | 1 | 3.2% | |
| 9 | Lightning | 1 | 3.2% | |
| 10 | Radiated heat from another fire | 1 | 3.2% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 1 | 3.2% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Bloomington departments in 2025. These 6 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $35,000 | Road freight or transport vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 2 | $25,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $15,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 4 | $5,000 | Off-road vehicle or heavy equipment fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 5 | $500 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 6 | $500 | Off-road vehicle or heavy equipment fire | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Bloomington sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 4,137 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 | 38.4 mi | |
| 2018 | Debris and open burning | 300 | 44.8 mi | |
| 2018 | Debris and open burning | 300 | 41.9 mi | |
| 2015 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 189 | 15.3 mi | |
| 2012 | Equipment and vehicle use | 166 | 46.2 mi | |
| 2018 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 165 | 13.6 mi | |
| 2009 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 140 | 43.5 mi | |
| 2018 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 130 | 42.3 mi | |
| 2018 | Debris and open burning | 125 | 43.2 mi | |
| 1999 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 124 | 49.8 mi | |
| 2003 | Debris and open burning | 104 | 46.8 mi | |
| 2009 | Power generation/transmission/distribution | 100 | 29.6 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 | 53804 | 54 |
Six Wisconsin cities with population within ±25% of Bloomington. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
1 departments report to NFIRS for incidents in Bloomington.
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.