In 2025, fire departments serving Edgerton responded to 55 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $20K building blaze. Here's the full picture.
Arcing, shorted electrical equipment lead by count. Building fires lead by dollars. Together the top five categories make up about 53% of all calls.
Mar peaks. Feb dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
277 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2024. $114K cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 44 | — | |
| 2022 | 48 | +9.1% | |
| 2023 | 60 | +25.0% | |
| 2024 | 70 | +16.7% | |
| 2025 | 55 | -21.4% |
For the 7 building fires Edgerton departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 65 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 | 18 | 27.7% | |
| 2 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 13 | 20.0% | |
| 3 | Outside area, other | 6 | 9.2% | |
| 4 | Cooking area, kitchen | 5 | 7.7% | |
| 5 | Attic: vacant, crawl space above top story, cupola | 4 | 6.2% | |
| 6 | Vehicle area, other | 3 | 4.6% | |
| 7 | Function area, other | 2 | 3.1% | |
| 8 | Laundry area, wash house (laundry) | 2 | 3.1% | |
| 9 | Wall surface: exterior | 2 | 3.1% | |
| 10 | Operator/passenger area of transportation equip. | 2 | 3.1% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 8 | 12.3% |
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 Edgerton mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 24 | 36.9% | |
| 2 | Heat source: other | 10 | 15.4% | |
| 3 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 6 | 9.2% | |
| 4 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 5 | 7.7% | |
| 5 | Heat, spark from friction | 4 | 6.2% | |
| 6 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 3 | 4.6% | |
| 7 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 3 | 4.6% | |
| 8 | Arcing | 2 | 3.1% | |
| 9 | Hot ember or ash | 2 | 3.1% | |
| 10 | Heat spread from another fire, other | 2 | 3.1% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 4 | 6.2% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Edgerton departments in 2025. These 2 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $20,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 2 | $1,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Edgerton sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 7,894 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 | 13.4 mi | |
| 2003 | Arson/incendiarism | 1,100 | 30.6 mi | |
| 2009 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 617 | 31.9 mi | |
| 1999 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 580 | 13.2 mi | |
| 2016 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 500 | 26.5 mi | |
| 2003 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 500 | 25.1 mi | |
| 2003 | Arson/incendiarism | 484 | 49.0 mi | |
| 2002 | Natural | 360 | 49.3 mi | |
| 2003 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 300 | 45.4 mi | |
| 2003 | Arson/incendiarism | 290 | 24.4 mi | |
| 2012 | Arson/incendiarism | 254 | 15.0 mi | |
| 2018 | Debris and open burning | 252 | 19.7 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 Edgerton. 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.