In 2025, fire departments serving Brandon responded to 33 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $100K 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 76% of all calls.
Mar peaks. Jul dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
91 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2025. $413K cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 11 | — | |
| 2022 | 15 | +36.4% | |
| 2023 | 20 | +33.3% | |
| 2024 | 12 | -40.0% | |
| 2025 | 33 | +175.0% |
For the 9 building fires Brandon departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 14 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 | 3 | 21.4% | |
| 2 | Outside area, other | 2 | 14.3% | |
| 3 | Other | 1 | 7.1% | |
| 4 | Function area, other | 1 | 7.1% | |
| 5 | Wall surface: exterior | 1 | 7.1% | |
| 6 | Vehicle area, other | 1 | 7.1% | |
| 7 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 1 | 7.1% | |
| 8 | Fuel tank, fuel line | 1 | 7.1% | |
| 9 | Courtyard, patio, porch, terrace | 1 | 7.1% | |
| 10 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 1 | 7.1% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 1 | 7.1% |
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 Brandon mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 9 | 64.3% | |
| 2 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 1 | 7.1% | |
| 3 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 1 | 7.1% | |
| 4 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 1 | 7.1% | |
| 5 | Hot ember or ash | 1 | 7.1% | |
| 6 | Heat from direct flame, convection currents | 1 | 7.1% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Brandon departments in 2025. These 8 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $100,000 | Fire, other | Significant | Investigated |
| 2 | $100,000 | Fire, other | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $5,000 | Chimney or flue fire, confined to chimney or flue | Significant | Investigated |
| 4 | $4,500 | Cooking fire, confined to container | Significant | Investigated |
| 5 | $4,000 | Trash or rubbish fire, contained | Significant | Investigated |
| 6 | $1,000 | Cooking fire, confined to container | Significant | Investigated |
| 7 | $200 | Trash or rubbish fire, contained | Significant | Investigated |
| 8 | $15 | Grass fire | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Brandon sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 11,181 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2003 | Arson/incendiarism | 1,100 | 33.8 mi | |
| 1994 | Arson/incendiarism | 1,015 | 12.0 mi | |
| 2014 | Debris and open burning | 829 | 2.0 mi | |
| 1998 | Equipment and vehicle use | 630 | 1.9 mi | |
| 2006 | Debris and open burning | 612 | 10.5 mi | |
| 2003 | Debris and open burning | 572 | 32.0 mi | |
| 2003 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 508 | 14.7 mi | |
| 2003 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 500 | 49.5 mi | |
| 2003 | Arson/incendiarism | 484 | 24.3 mi | |
| 2003 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 400 | 22.8 mi | |
| 2019 | Arson/incendiarism | 385 | 31.2 mi | |
| 2015 | Railroad operations and maintenance | 366 | 35.6 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 Brandon. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
1 departments report to NFIRS for incidents in Brandon.
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.