In 2025, fire departments serving Centuria responded to 29 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 65% of all calls.
Jan peaks. Jun dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
79 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2025. $1.1M cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 13 | — | |
| 2022 | 14 | +7.7% | |
| 2023 | 11 | -21.4% | |
| 2024 | 12 | +9.1% | |
| 2025 | 29 | +141.7% |
For the 9 building fires Centuria departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 25 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 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 6 | 24.0% | |
| 2 | Vehicle storage area; garage, carport | 4 | 16.0% | |
| 3 | Heating room or area, water heater area | 2 | 8.0% | |
| 4 | Wall surface: exterior | 2 | 8.0% | |
| 5 | Outside area, other | 2 | 8.0% | |
| 6 | Bedroom - < 5 persons; included are jail or prison | 1 | 4.0% | |
| 7 | Equipment or service area, other | 1 | 4.0% | |
| 8 | Substructure area or space, crawl space | 1 | 4.0% | |
| 9 | Attic: vacant, crawl space above top story, cupola | 1 | 4.0% | |
| 10 | Vehicle area, other | 1 | 4.0% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 4 | 16.0% |
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 Centuria mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 9 | 36.0% | |
| 2 | Hot ember or ash | 5 | 20.0% | |
| 3 | Multiple heat sources including multiple ignitions | 3 | 12.0% | |
| 4 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 2 | 8.0% | |
| 5 | Arcing | 1 | 4.0% | |
| 6 | Incendiary device | 1 | 4.0% | |
| 7 | Match | 1 | 4.0% | |
| 8 | Backfire from internal combustion engine | 1 | 4.0% | |
| 9 | Heat from direct flame, convection currents | 1 | 4.0% | |
| 10 | Conducted heat from another fire | 1 | 4.0% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Centuria departments in 2025. These 7 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $100,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 2 | $50,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $45,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 4 | $5,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 5 | $4,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 6 | $4,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 7 | $4,000 | Off-road vehicle or heavy equipment fire | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Centuria sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 18,912 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | Debris and open burning | 8,513 | 29.3 mi | |
| 2009 | Arson/incendiarism | 2,550 | 29.2 mi | |
| 2000 | Debris and open burning | 1,350 | 38.4 mi | |
| 2004 | Railroad operations and maintenance | 835 | 37.1 mi | |
| 2013 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 656 | 28.5 mi | |
| 2000 | Smoking | 420 | 29.8 mi | |
| 2004 | Railroad operations and maintenance | 358 | 40.4 mi | |
| 2010 | Equipment and vehicle use | 336 | 36.6 mi | |
| 2004 | Arson/incendiarism | 335 | 45.4 mi | |
| 1999 | Railroad operations and maintenance | 306 | 37.9 mi | |
| 2004 | Railroad operations and maintenance | 298 | 41.8 mi | |
| 2000 | Debris and open burning | 275 | 48.2 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 Centuria. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
1 departments report to NFIRS for incidents in Centuria.
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.