In 2025, fire departments serving Colfax responded to 33 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 82% of all calls.
May peaks. Dec dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
118 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2025. $658K cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 22 | — | |
| 2022 | 30 | +36.4% | |
| 2023 | 17 | -43.3% | |
| 2024 | 16 | -5.9% | |
| 2025 | 33 | +106.2% |
For the 18 building fires Colfax departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 44 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 | 11 | 25.0% | |
| 2 | Outside area, other | 6 | 13.6% | |
| 3 | Vehicle storage area; garage, carport | 5 | 11.4% | |
| 4 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 5 | 11.4% | |
| 5 | Other | 3 | 6.8% | |
| 6 | Storage area, other | 3 | 6.8% | |
| 7 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 3 | 6.8% | |
| 8 | Laundry area, wash house (laundry) | 1 | 2.3% | |
| 9 | Office | 1 | 2.3% | |
| 10 | Storage room, area, tank, or bin | 1 | 2.3% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 5 | 11.4% |
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 Colfax mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 23 | 52.3% | |
| 2 | Hot ember or ash | 3 | 6.8% | |
| 3 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 2 | 4.5% | |
| 4 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 2 | 4.5% | |
| 5 | Arcing | 2 | 4.5% | |
| 6 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 2 | 4.5% | |
| 7 | Heat spread from another fire, other | 2 | 4.5% | |
| 8 | Heat source: other | 1 | 2.3% | |
| 9 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 1 | 2.3% | |
| 10 | Explosive, fireworks, other | 1 | 2.3% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 5 | 11.4% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Colfax departments in 2025. These 4 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $100,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 2 | $14,500 | Brush, or brush and grass mixture fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $10,000 | Outside rubbish, trash or waste fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 4 | $10,000 | Fire, other | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Colfax sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 2,964 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1994 | Recreation and ceremony | 553 | 40.4 mi | |
| 2009 | Fireworks | 390 | 9.4 mi | |
| 2005 | Debris and open burning | 260 | 43.5 mi | |
| 1998 | Recreation and ceremony | 250 | 40.3 mi | |
| 2003 | Debris and open burning | 148 | 13.7 mi | |
| 1998 | Arson/incendiarism | 140 | 38.9 mi | |
| 2018 | Debris and open burning | 124 | 24.9 mi | |
| 2012 | Debris and open burning | 123 | 34.4 mi | |
| 2018 | Debris and open burning | 122 | 25.6 mi | |
| 2018 | Arson/incendiarism | 104 | 49.3 mi | |
| 2000 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 83 | 46.6 mi | |
| 1993 | Arson/incendiarism | 75 | 41.0 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 | 54730 | 116 |
Six Wisconsin cities with population within ±25% of Colfax. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
1 departments report to NFIRS for incidents in Colfax.
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.