In 2025, fire departments serving Boscobel responded to 35 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $15K 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 60% of all calls.
Feb peaks. Sep dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
168 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2022. $1.8M cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 21 | — | |
| 2022 | 45 | +114.3% | |
| 2023 | 36 | -20.0% | |
| 2024 | 31 | -13.9% | |
| 2025 | 35 | +12.9% |
For the 8 building fires Boscobel departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 45 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 | 13 | 28.9% | |
| 2 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 9 | 20.0% | |
| 3 | Cooking area, kitchen | 3 | 6.7% | |
| 4 | Storage area, other | 3 | 6.7% | |
| 5 | Common room, den, family room, living room, lounge | 2 | 4.4% | |
| 6 | Bedroom - < 5 persons; included are jail or prison | 2 | 4.4% | |
| 7 | Bathroom, checkroom, lavatory, locker room | 2 | 4.4% | |
| 8 | Exterior balcony, unenclosed porch | 2 | 4.4% | |
| 9 | Wall surface: exterior | 2 | 4.4% | |
| 10 | Entrance way, lobby | 1 | 2.2% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 6 | 13.3% |
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 Boscobel mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 20 | 44.4% | |
| 2 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 9 | 20.0% | |
| 3 | Arcing | 5 | 11.1% | |
| 4 | Hot ember or ash | 3 | 6.7% | |
| 5 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 2 | 4.4% | |
| 6 | Heat source: other | 1 | 2.2% | |
| 7 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 1 | 2.2% | |
| 8 | Heat from undetermined smoking material | 1 | 2.2% | |
| 9 | Chemical, natural heat source, other | 1 | 2.2% | |
| 10 | Lightning | 1 | 2.2% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 1 | 2.2% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Boscobel departments in 2025. These 8 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $15,000 | Fire in portable building, fixed location | Significant | Investigated |
| 2 | $15,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $10,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 4 | $8,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 5 | $5,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 6 | $5,000 | Off-road vehicle or heavy equipment fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 7 | $5,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 8 | $3,500 | Mobile property (vehicle) fire, other | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Boscobel sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 4,258 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 | 20.8 mi | |
| 2018 | Debris and open burning | 300 | 48.3 mi | |
| 2018 | Debris and open burning | 300 | 44.7 mi | |
| 2012 | Equipment and vehicle use | 195 | 49.2 mi | |
| 2015 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 189 | 9.8 mi | |
| 2012 | Equipment and vehicle use | 166 | 38.8 mi | |
| 2018 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 165 | 34.3 mi | |
| 2018 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 130 | 33.3 mi | |
| 2018 | Debris and open burning | 125 | 36.0 mi | |
| 1999 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 124 | 42.8 mi | |
| 2003 | Debris and open burning | 104 | 26.6 mi | |
| 2009 | Power generation/transmission/distribution | 100 | 22.3 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 Boscobel. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
1 departments report to NFIRS for incidents in Boscobel.
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.