In 2025, fire departments serving East Troy responded to 66 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $10K 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 73% of all calls.
Nov peaks. Jan dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
301 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2024. $761K cumulative property loss. 1 civilian deaths.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 40 | — | |
| 2022 | 47 | +17.5% | |
| 2023 | 72 | +53.2% | |
| 2024 | 76 | +5.6% | |
| 2025 | 66 | -13.2% |
For the 16 building fires East Troy departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 59 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 | 9 | 15.3% | |
| 2 | Highway, parking lot, street: on or near | 7 | 11.9% | |
| 3 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 7 | 11.9% | |
| 4 | Other | 5 | 8.5% | |
| 5 | Outside area, other | 5 | 8.5% | |
| 6 | Vehicle area, other | 4 | 6.8% | |
| 7 | Function area, other | 2 | 3.4% | |
| 8 | Cooking area, kitchen | 2 | 3.4% | |
| 9 | Storage area, other | 2 | 3.4% | |
| 10 | Wall surface: exterior | 2 | 3.4% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 14 | 23.7% |
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 East Troy mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 21 | 35.6% | |
| 2 | Arcing | 5 | 8.5% | |
| 3 | Hot ember or ash | 5 | 8.5% | |
| 4 | Heat spread from another fire, other | 5 | 8.5% | |
| 5 | Heat source: other | 4 | 6.8% | |
| 6 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 4 | 6.8% | |
| 7 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 4 | 6.8% | |
| 8 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 3 | 5.1% | |
| 9 | Heat, spark from friction | 3 | 5.1% | |
| 10 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 2 | 3.4% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 3 | 5.1% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by East Troy departments in 2025. These 3 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $10,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 2 | $2,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $1,000 | Chimney or flue fire, confined to chimney or flue | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. East Troy sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 6,717 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 | 46.2 mi | |
| 2003 | Arson/incendiarism | 1,100 | 39.0 mi | |
| 2015 | Misuse of fire by a minor | 750 | 40.3 mi | |
| 1999 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 580 | 45.7 mi | |
| 2003 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 450 | 39.2 mi | |
| 2002 | Natural | 360 | 48.7 mi | |
| 2003 | Arson/incendiarism | 290 | 39.5 mi | |
| 2012 | Arson/incendiarism | 254 | 30.8 mi | |
| 2018 | Debris and open burning | 252 | 24.1 mi | |
| 2010 | Natural | 200 | 15.0 mi | |
| 2010 | Natural | 180 | 14.7 mi | |
| 2004 | Smoking | 169 | 45.4 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 East Troy. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
2 departments report to NFIRS for incidents in East Troy.
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.