In 2025, fire departments serving Blue River responded to 14 fire and hazmat incidents . Here's the full picture.
Grass fire lead by count. Building fires lead by dollars. Together the top five categories make up about 100% of all calls.
Mar peaks. Jan dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
66 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2021. $247K cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 15 | — | |
| 2022 | 13 | -13.3% | |
| 2023 | 9 | -30.8% | |
| 2024 | 15 | +66.7% | |
| 2025 | 14 | -6.7% |
For the 3 building fires Blue River departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 24 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 | 9 | 37.5% | |
| 2 | Equipment or service area, other | 2 | 8.3% | |
| 3 | Substructure area or space, crawl space | 2 | 8.3% | |
| 4 | Common room, den, family room, living room, lounge | 1 | 4.2% | |
| 5 | Dining room, cafeteria bar area, beverage service | 1 | 4.2% | |
| 6 | Cooking area, kitchen | 1 | 4.2% | |
| 7 | Laundry area, wash house (laundry) | 1 | 4.2% | |
| 8 | Ceiling & floor assembly, crawl space b/t stories | 1 | 4.2% | |
| 9 | Wall assembly | 1 | 4.2% | |
| 10 | Vehicle area, other | 1 | 4.2% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 4 | 16.7% |
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 Blue River mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 16 | 66.7% | |
| 2 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 3 | 12.5% | |
| 3 | Hot ember or ash | 2 | 8.3% | |
| 4 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 1 | 4.2% | |
| 5 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 1 | 4.2% | |
| 6 | Heat from other open flame or smoking materials | 1 | 4.2% |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Blue River sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 3,713 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 | 14.3 mi | |
| 2015 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 189 | 16.6 mi | |
| 2012 | Equipment and vehicle use | 166 | 42.1 mi | |
| 2018 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 165 | 39.9 mi | |
| 2000 | Railroad operations and maintenance | 140 | 49.9 mi | |
| 2018 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 130 | 29.2 mi | |
| 2018 | Debris and open burning | 125 | 32.4 mi | |
| 1999 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 124 | 46.0 mi | |
| 2003 | Debris and open burning | 104 | 22.9 mi | |
| 2009 | Power generation/transmission/distribution | 100 | 20.1 mi | |
| 2018 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 100 | 49.6 mi | |
| 2004 | Debris and open burning | 88 | 41.2 mi |
Top 2 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 Blue River. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
1 departments report to NFIRS for incidents in Blue River.
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.