In 2025, fire departments serving Chilton responded to 51 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $25K 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. Jul dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
291 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2022. $1.4M cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 62 | — | |
| 2022 | 67 | +8.1% | |
| 2023 | 64 | -4.5% | |
| 2024 | 47 | -26.6% | |
| 2025 | 51 | +8.5% |
For the 13 building fires Chilton departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 37 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 | 6 | 16.2% | |
| 2 | Outside area, other | 5 | 13.5% | |
| 3 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 4 | 10.8% | |
| 4 | Undetermined | 3 | 8.1% | |
| 5 | Other | 2 | 5.4% | |
| 6 | Storage area, other | 2 | 5.4% | |
| 7 | Vehicle storage area; garage, carport | 2 | 5.4% | |
| 8 | Exterior, exposed surface | 2 | 5.4% | |
| 9 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 2 | 5.4% | |
| 10 | Corridor, mall | 1 | 2.7% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 8 | 21.6% |
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 Chilton mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Heat source: other | 6 | 16.2% | |
| 2 | Hot ember or ash | 6 | 16.2% | |
| 3 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 5 | 13.5% | |
| 4 | Undetermined | 4 | 10.8% | |
| 5 | Heat from other open flame or smoking materials | 3 | 8.1% | |
| 6 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 2 | 5.4% | |
| 7 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 2 | 5.4% | |
| 8 | Arcing | 2 | 5.4% | |
| 9 | Chemical reaction | 2 | 5.4% | |
| 10 | Heat spread from another fire, other | 2 | 5.4% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 3 | 8.1% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Chilton departments in 2025. These 2 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $25,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 2 | $10,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Chilton sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 8,582 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1994 | Arson/incendiarism | 1,015 | 41.0 mi | |
| 2014 | Debris and open burning | 829 | 36.9 mi | |
| 1998 | Equipment and vehicle use | 630 | 36.7 mi | |
| 2006 | Debris and open burning | 612 | 43.7 mi | |
| 2003 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 508 | 24.1 mi | |
| 2003 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 400 | 23.9 mi | |
| 2019 | Arson/incendiarism | 385 | 31.7 mi | |
| 2015 | Railroad operations and maintenance | 366 | 27.2 mi | |
| 2014 | Debris and open burning | 364 | 43.7 mi | |
| 2002 | Natural | 360 | 44.8 mi | |
| 2002 | Arson/incendiarism | 325 | 38.8 mi | |
| 1999 | Debris and open burning | 320 | 48.5 mi |
Top 4 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 Chilton. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
1 departments report to NFIRS for incidents in Chilton.
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.