In 2025, fire departments serving Bristol responded to 106 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $50K building blaze. Here's the full picture.
Gas leak (natural gas or LPG) lead by count. Building fires lead by dollars. Together the top five categories make up about 52% of all calls.
Jun peaks. Jan dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
584 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2022. $1.7M cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 95 | — | |
| 2022 | 143 | +50.5% | |
| 2023 | 120 | -16.1% | |
| 2024 | 120 | +0.0% | |
| 2025 | 106 | -11.7% |
For the 10 building fires Bristol departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 128 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 | 30 | 23.4% | |
| 2 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 25 | 19.5% | |
| 3 | Outside area, other | 15 | 11.7% | |
| 4 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 14 | 10.9% | |
| 5 | Vehicle storage area; garage, carport | 7 | 5.5% | |
| 6 | Vehicle area, other | 6 | 4.7% | |
| 7 | Other | 5 | 3.9% | |
| 8 | Cooking area, kitchen | 4 | 3.1% | |
| 9 | Wildland, woods | 4 | 3.1% | |
| 10 | Wall surface: exterior | 3 | 2.3% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 15 | 11.7% |
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 Bristol mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 54 | 42.2% | |
| 2 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 11 | 8.6% | |
| 3 | Hot ember or ash | 10 | 7.8% | |
| 4 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 9 | 7.0% | |
| 5 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 8 | 6.2% | |
| 6 | Heat source: other | 5 | 3.9% | |
| 7 | Fireworks | 5 | 3.9% | |
| 8 | Flame/torch used for lighting | 5 | 3.9% | |
| 9 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 3 | 2.3% | |
| 10 | Arcing | 3 | 2.3% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 15 | 11.7% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Bristol departments in 2025. These 5 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $50,000 | Fire in mobile home used as fixed residence | Significant | Investigated |
| 2 | $5,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $5,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 4 | $2,000 | Brush, or brush and grass mixture fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 5 | $1,000 | Off-road vehicle or heavy equipment fire | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Bristol sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 2,766 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2015 | Misuse of fire by a minor | 750 | 14.4 mi | |
| 2003 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 450 | 13.4 mi | |
| 2018 | Debris and open burning | 252 | 50.0 mi | |
| 2010 | Natural | 200 | 24.5 mi | |
| 2010 | Natural | 180 | 24.1 mi | |
| 2010 | Equipment and vehicle use | 80 | 10.6 mi | |
| 2012 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 80 | 16.3 mi | |
| 2020 | Arson/incendiarism | 76 | 22.2 mi | |
| 2003 | Recreation and ceremony | 75 | 42.7 mi | |
| 2020 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 60 | 24.5 mi | |
| 2010 | Debris and open burning | 53 | 29.5 mi | |
| 2014 | Arson/incendiarism | 50 | 43.8 mi |
Top 10 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 Bristol. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
1 departments report to NFIRS for incidents in Bristol.
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.