In 2025, fire departments serving Gays Mills responded to 15 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $40K building blaze. Here's the full picture.
Grass fire lead by count. Building fires lead by dollars. Together the top five categories make up about 73% of all calls.
Mar peaks. Jul dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
72 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2023. $1.2M cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 11 | — | |
| 2022 | 13 | +18.2% | |
| 2023 | 22 | +69.2% | |
| 2024 | 11 | -50.0% | |
| 2025 | 15 | +36.4% |
For the 1 building fires Gays Mills 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 | Undetermined | 7 | 28.0% | |
| 2 | Common room, den, family room, living room, lounge | 2 | 8.0% | |
| 3 | Storage area, other | 2 | 8.0% | |
| 4 | Wall assembly | 2 | 8.0% | |
| 5 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 2 | 8.0% | |
| 6 | Other | 1 | 4.0% | |
| 7 | Egress/exit, other | 1 | 4.0% | |
| 8 | Bedroom - < 5 persons; included are jail or prison | 1 | 4.0% | |
| 9 | Processing/manufacturing area, workroom | 1 | 4.0% | |
| 10 | Vehicle storage area; garage, carport | 1 | 4.0% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 5 | 20.0% |
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 Gays Mills mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 9 | 36.0% | |
| 2 | Hot ember or ash | 5 | 20.0% | |
| 3 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 3 | 12.0% | |
| 4 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 2 | 8.0% | |
| 5 | Arcing | 2 | 8.0% | |
| 6 | Flying brand, ember, spark | 2 | 8.0% | |
| 7 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 1 | 4.0% | |
| 8 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 1 | 4.0% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Gays Mills departments in 2025. These 2 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $40,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 2 | $200 | Grass fire | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Gays Mills sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 4,249 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 | 29.5 mi | |
| 2018 | Debris and open burning | 300 | 39.6 mi | |
| 2018 | Debris and open burning | 300 | 35.9 mi | |
| 2012 | Equipment and vehicle use | 195 | 34.7 mi | |
| 2015 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 189 | 14.6 mi | |
| 2012 | Equipment and vehicle use | 166 | 25.2 mi | |
| 2018 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 165 | 43.3 mi | |
| 2018 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 130 | 46.1 mi | |
| 2018 | Debris and open burning | 125 | 49.3 mi | |
| 1999 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 124 | 29.2 mi | |
| 2003 | Debris and open burning | 104 | 19.6 mi | |
| 2009 | Power generation/transmission/distribution | 100 | 36.4 mi |
Top 1 ZIP codes by NFIRS incident count across 2021–2025. Each ZIP has its own fire profile — dive in for neighborhood-level context.
| # | ZIP | 5-yr incidents | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 54631 | 72 |
Six Wisconsin cities with population within ±25% of Gays Mills. 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.