In 2025, fire departments serving Bruce responded to 22 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $150K 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 95% of all calls.
Jul peaks. Apr dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
97 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2023. $652K cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 15 | — | |
| 2022 | 15 | +0.0% | |
| 2023 | 25 | +66.7% | |
| 2024 | 20 | -20.0% | |
| 2025 | 22 | +10.0% |
For the 11 building fires Bruce departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 31 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 | 8 | 25.8% | |
| 2 | Exterior, exposed surface | 3 | 9.7% | |
| 3 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 3 | 9.7% | |
| 4 | Other | 2 | 6.5% | |
| 5 | Cooking area, kitchen | 2 | 6.5% | |
| 6 | Storage area, other | 2 | 6.5% | |
| 7 | Wall surface: exterior | 2 | 6.5% | |
| 8 | Outside area, other | 2 | 6.5% | |
| 9 | Highway, parking lot, street: on or near | 2 | 6.5% | |
| 10 | Storage: supplies or tools; dead storage | 1 | 3.2% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 4 | 12.9% |
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 Bruce mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 15 | 48.4% | |
| 2 | Heat source: other | 5 | 16.1% | |
| 3 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 3 | 9.7% | |
| 4 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 2 | 6.5% | |
| 5 | Heat spread from another fire, other | 2 | 6.5% | |
| 6 | Arcing | 1 | 3.2% | |
| 7 | Heat from other open flame or smoking materials | 1 | 3.2% | |
| 8 | Lightning | 1 | 3.2% | |
| 9 | Multiple heat sources including multiple ignitions | 1 | 3.2% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Bruce departments in 2025. These 1 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $150,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Bruce sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 2,018 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2009 | Fireworks | 390 | 47.5 mi | |
| 2003 | Debris and open burning | 148 | 47.0 mi | |
| 1998 | Arson/incendiarism | 140 | 41.9 mi | |
| 1998 | Power generation/transmission/distribution | 120 | 39.9 mi | |
| 2003 | Recreation and ceremony | 113 | 38.4 mi | |
| 1992 | Natural | 100 | 43.8 mi | |
| 2006 | Misuse of fire by a minor | 75 | 46.9 mi | |
| 1993 | Arson/incendiarism | 75 | 11.6 mi | |
| 1993 | Debris and open burning | 70 | 48.0 mi | |
| 1996 | Debris and open burning | 69 | 29.5 mi | |
| 2009 | Debris and open burning | 61 | 40.7 mi | |
| 2003 | Recreation and ceremony | 60 | 10.9 mi |
Top 1 ZIP codes by NFIRS incident count across 2021–2025. Each ZIP has its own fire profile — dive in for neighborhood-level context.
| # | ZIP | 5-yr incidents | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 54819 | 97 |
Six Wisconsin cities with population within ±25% of Bruce. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
1 departments report to NFIRS for incidents in Bruce.
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.