In 2025, fire departments serving Darlington responded to 29 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $90K 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 72% of all calls.
Feb peaks. May dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
136 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2023. $1.9M cumulative property loss. 1 civilian deaths.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 22 | — | |
| 2022* | 13 | — | |
| 2023 | 41 | — | |
| 2024 | 31 | -24.4% | |
| 2025 | 29 | -6.5% |
* Well below Darlington's usual volume. That almost always means one or more departments didn't submit a full year to NFIRS, not that fires dropped, so no year-over-year change is shown for it.
For the 13 building fires Darlington departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 47 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 | 12 | 25.5% | |
| 2 | Undetermined | 8 | 17.0% | |
| 3 | Outside area, other | 5 | 10.6% | |
| 4 | Vehicle storage area; garage, carport | 3 | 6.4% | |
| 5 | Attic: vacant, crawl space above top story, cupola | 3 | 6.4% | |
| 6 | Vehicle area, other | 2 | 4.3% | |
| 7 | Exterior, exposed surface | 2 | 4.3% | |
| 8 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 2 | 4.3% | |
| 9 | Interior stairway or ramp | 1 | 2.1% | |
| 10 | Common room, den, family room, living room, lounge | 1 | 2.1% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 8 | 17.0% |
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 Darlington mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 19 | 40.4% | |
| 2 | Arcing | 8 | 17.0% | |
| 3 | Heat source: other | 6 | 12.8% | |
| 4 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 4 | 8.5% | |
| 5 | Hot ember or ash | 2 | 4.3% | |
| 6 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 1 | 2.1% | |
| 7 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 1 | 2.1% | |
| 8 | Explosive, fireworks, other | 1 | 2.1% | |
| 9 | Flame/torch used for lighting | 1 | 2.1% | |
| 10 | Chemical reaction | 1 | 2.1% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 3 | 6.4% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Darlington departments in 2025. These 7 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $90,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 2 | $70,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $35,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 4 | $15,000 | Mobile property (vehicle) fire, other | Significant | Investigated |
| 5 | $10,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 6 | $5,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 7 | $5,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Darlington sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 6,510 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1999 | Arson/incendiarism | 1,400 | 36.9 mi | |
| 2000 | Equipment and vehicle use | 1,100 | 41.6 mi | |
| 2009 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 617 | 23.6 mi | |
| 1999 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 580 | 42.1 mi | |
| 2016 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 500 | 42.3 mi | |
| 2014 | Recreation and ceremony | 265 | 49.9 mi | |
| 2006 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 200 | 32.8 mi | |
| 2015 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 189 | 49.0 mi | |
| 2004 | Smoking | 169 | 42.4 mi | |
| 2018 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 165 | 45.5 mi | |
| 2018 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 130 | 18.7 mi | |
| 2018 | Debris and open burning | 125 | 14.8 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 Darlington. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
1 departments report to NFIRS for incidents in Darlington.
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.