In 2025, fire departments serving Deerfield responded to 36 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $250K 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.
Jul peaks. Feb dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
147 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2025. $1.1M cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 26 | — | |
| 2022 | 28 | +7.7% | |
| 2023 | 35 | +25.0% | |
| 2024 | 22 | -37.1% | |
| 2025 | 36 | +63.6% |
For the 14 building fires Deerfield 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 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 11 | 29.7% | |
| 2 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 6 | 16.2% | |
| 3 | Cargo/trunk area - all vehicles | 3 | 8.1% | |
| 4 | Undetermined | 3 | 8.1% | |
| 5 | Cooking area, kitchen | 2 | 5.4% | |
| 6 | Vehicle storage area; garage, carport | 2 | 5.4% | |
| 7 | Wall surface: exterior | 2 | 5.4% | |
| 8 | Bathroom, checkroom, lavatory, locker room | 1 | 2.7% | |
| 9 | Laundry area, wash house (laundry) | 1 | 2.7% | |
| 10 | Storage: supplies or tools; dead storage | 1 | 2.7% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 5 | 13.5% |
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 Deerfield mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 8 | 21.6% | |
| 2 | Heat, spark from friction | 4 | 10.8% | |
| 3 | Hot ember or ash | 4 | 10.8% | |
| 4 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 3 | 8.1% | |
| 5 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 3 | 8.1% | |
| 6 | Arcing | 3 | 8.1% | |
| 7 | Chemical reaction | 3 | 8.1% | |
| 8 | Heat from direct flame, convection currents | 2 | 5.4% | |
| 9 | Flying brand, ember, spark | 2 | 5.4% | |
| 10 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 1 | 2.7% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 4 | 10.8% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Deerfield departments in 2025. These 8 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $250,000 | Building fires | Major | Investigated |
| 2 | $225,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $30,000 | Camper or recreational vehicle (RV) fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 4 | $6,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 5 | $4,500 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 6 | $3,600 | Outside storage fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 7 | $3,500 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 8 | $500 | Road freight or transport vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Deerfield sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 11,541 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | Equipment and vehicle use | 1,100 | 23.7 mi | |
| 2003 | Arson/incendiarism | 1,100 | 18.2 mi | |
| 1994 | Arson/incendiarism | 1,015 | 41.2 mi | |
| 2014 | Debris and open burning | 829 | 48.5 mi | |
| 1998 | Equipment and vehicle use | 630 | 48.7 mi | |
| 2009 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 617 | 39.3 mi | |
| 2006 | Debris and open burning | 612 | 39.7 mi | |
| 1999 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 580 | 23.9 mi | |
| 2016 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 500 | 39.7 mi | |
| 2003 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 500 | 14.8 mi | |
| 2003 | Arson/incendiarism | 484 | 34.6 mi | |
| 2014 | Debris and open burning | 364 | 38.2 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 Deerfield. 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.