In 2025, fire departments serving Brodhead responded to 87 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $250K 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 59% of all calls.
Mar peaks. Dec dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
284 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2025. $1.9M cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 57 | — | |
| 2022 | 41 | -28.1% | |
| 2023 | 58 | +41.5% | |
| 2024 | 41 | -29.3% | |
| 2025 | 87 | +112.2% |
For the 20 building fires Brodhead departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 97 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 | 30 | 30.9% | |
| 2 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 14 | 14.4% | |
| 3 | Undetermined | 13 | 13.4% | |
| 4 | Outside area, other | 7 | 7.2% | |
| 5 | Cooking area, kitchen | 4 | 4.1% | |
| 6 | Exterior balcony, unenclosed porch | 4 | 4.1% | |
| 7 | Machinery room or area; elevator machinery room | 3 | 3.1% | |
| 8 | Cargo/trunk area - all vehicles | 3 | 3.1% | |
| 9 | Wildland, woods | 3 | 3.1% | |
| 10 | Maintenance shop or area, paint shop or area | 2 | 2.1% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 14 | 14.4% |
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 Brodhead mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Hot ember or ash | 21 | 21.6% | |
| 2 | Undetermined | 16 | 16.5% | |
| 3 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 13 | 13.4% | |
| 4 | Match | 6 | 6.2% | |
| 5 | Flying brand, ember, spark | 6 | 6.2% | |
| 6 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 5 | 5.2% | |
| 7 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 4 | 4.1% | |
| 8 | Chemical reaction | 4 | 4.1% | |
| 9 | Heat, spark from friction | 3 | 3.1% | |
| 10 | Lightning | 3 | 3.1% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 16 | 16.5% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Brodhead departments in 2025. These 8 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $250,000 | Building fires | Major | Investigated |
| 2 | $150,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $80,000 | Camper or recreational vehicle (RV) fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 4 | $5,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 5 | $500 | Brush, or brush and grass mixture fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 6 | $500 | Brush, or brush and grass mixture fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 7 | $500 | Brush, or brush and grass mixture fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 8 | $100 | Outside rubbish, trash or waste fire | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Brodhead sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 5,650 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | Equipment and vehicle use | 1,100 | 9.9 mi | |
| 2009 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 617 | 14.7 mi | |
| 1999 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 580 | 9.6 mi | |
| 2016 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 500 | 8.3 mi | |
| 2003 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 500 | 36.4 mi | |
| 2003 | Arson/incendiarism | 290 | 44.4 mi | |
| 2012 | Arson/incendiarism | 254 | 36.6 mi | |
| 2018 | Debris and open burning | 252 | 41.4 mi | |
| 2004 | Smoking | 169 | 10.4 mi | |
| 2012 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 139 | 44.6 mi | |
| 2018 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 130 | 43.0 mi | |
| 2018 | Debris and open burning | 125 | 40.1 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 Brodhead. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
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.