In 2025, fire departments serving Denmark responded to 29 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.
Feb peaks. Jan dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
168 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2024. $826K cumulative property loss. 1 civilian deaths.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 25 | — | |
| 2022 | 24 | -4.0% | |
| 2023 | 42 | +75.0% | |
| 2024 | 48 | +14.3% | |
| 2025 | 29 | -39.6% |
For the 9 building fires Denmark 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 | 3 | 12.0% | |
| 2 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 3 | 12.0% | |
| 3 | Undetermined | 3 | 12.0% | |
| 4 | Common room, den, family room, living room, lounge | 2 | 8.0% | |
| 5 | Cooking area, kitchen | 2 | 8.0% | |
| 6 | Wall assembly | 2 | 8.0% | |
| 7 | Operator/passenger area of transportation equip. | 2 | 8.0% | |
| 8 | Outside area, other | 2 | 8.0% | |
| 9 | Assembly or sales area, other | 1 | 4.0% | |
| 10 | Laundry area, wash house (laundry) | 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 Denmark mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 6 | 24.0% | |
| 2 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 4 | 16.0% | |
| 3 | Arcing | 4 | 16.0% | |
| 4 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 2 | 8.0% | |
| 5 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 2 | 8.0% | |
| 6 | Hot ember or ash | 2 | 8.0% | |
| 7 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 1 | 4.0% | |
| 8 | Heat from other open flame or smoking materials | 1 | 4.0% | |
| 9 | Cigarette lighter | 1 | 4.0% | |
| 10 | Heat spread from another fire, other | 1 | 4.0% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 1 | 4.0% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Denmark departments in 2025. These 4 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $250,000 | Building fires | Major | Investigated |
| 2 | $35,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $1,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 4 | $1,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Denmark sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 3,027 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2003 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 400 | 45.2 mi | |
| 2019 | Arson/incendiarism | 385 | 47.4 mi | |
| 2015 | Railroad operations and maintenance | 366 | 40.1 mi | |
| 2020 | Arson/incendiarism | 320 | 47.4 mi | |
| 2014 | Debris and open burning | 275 | 47.4 mi | |
| 2007 | Arson/incendiarism | 275 | 45.0 mi | |
| 2004 | Debris and open burning | 215 | 36.4 mi | |
| 1999 | Smoking | 100 | 34.5 mi | |
| 1994 | Arson/incendiarism | 85 | 20.9 mi | |
| 2005 | Debris and open burning | 75 | 47.3 mi | |
| 1999 | Recreation and ceremony | 65 | 37.9 mi | |
| 2015 | Equipment and vehicle use | 56 | 43.4 mi |
Top 3 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 Denmark. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
1 departments report to NFIRS for incidents in Denmark.
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.