In 2025, fire departments serving Cedarburg responded to 106 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $9K 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 71% of all calls.
Nov peaks. Sep dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
464 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2024. $88K cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 72 | — | |
| 2022 | 94 | +30.6% | |
| 2023 | 85 | -9.6% | |
| 2024 | 107 | +25.9% | |
| 2025 | 106 | -0.9% |
For the 14 building fires Cedarburg departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 76 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 | Cooking area, kitchen | 13 | 17.1% | |
| 2 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 11 | 14.5% | |
| 3 | Undetermined | 7 | 9.2% | |
| 4 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 5 | 6.6% | |
| 5 | Vehicle storage area; garage, carport | 4 | 5.3% | |
| 6 | Outside area, other | 4 | 5.3% | |
| 7 | Other | 3 | 3.9% | |
| 8 | Wall surface: exterior | 3 | 3.9% | |
| 9 | Cargo/trunk area - all vehicles | 3 | 3.9% | |
| 10 | Highway, parking lot, street: on or near | 3 | 3.9% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 20 | 26.3% |
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 Cedarburg mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 25 | 32.9% | |
| 2 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 8 | 10.5% | |
| 3 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 8 | 10.5% | |
| 4 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 7 | 9.2% | |
| 5 | Heat source: other | 6 | 7.9% | |
| 6 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 4 | 5.3% | |
| 7 | Hot ember or ash | 3 | 3.9% | |
| 8 | Heat from other open flame or smoking materials | 3 | 3.9% | |
| 9 | Arcing | 2 | 2.6% | |
| 10 | Flame/torch used for lighting | 2 | 2.6% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 8 | 10.5% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Cedarburg departments in 2025. These 2 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $8,500 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 2 | $500 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Cedarburg sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 8,014 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 | 43.0 mi | |
| 1994 | Arson/incendiarism | 1,015 | 40.1 mi | |
| 2014 | Debris and open burning | 829 | 48.0 mi | |
| 1998 | Equipment and vehicle use | 630 | 48.0 mi | |
| 2006 | Debris and open burning | 612 | 44.6 mi | |
| 2003 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 508 | 41.4 mi | |
| 2014 | Debris and open burning | 364 | 38.6 mi | |
| 2002 | Natural | 360 | 33.8 mi | |
| 2002 | Arson/incendiarism | 325 | 36.3 mi | |
| 2005 | Debris and open burning | 280 | 35.9 mi | |
| 2018 | Debris and open burning | 252 | 43.6 mi | |
| 2003 | Debris and open burning | 250 | 34.3 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 Cedarburg. 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.