In 2025, fire departments serving Glendale responded to 103 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $50K building blaze. Here's the full picture.
Power line down lead by count. Building fires lead by dollars. Together the top five categories make up about 64% of all calls.
Aug peaks. Apr dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
646 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2023. $2.6M cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 92 | — | |
| 2022 | 109 | +18.5% | |
| 2023 | 239 | +119.3% | |
| 2024 | 103 | -56.9% | |
| 2025 | 103 | +0.0% |
For the 11 building fires Glendale departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 195 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 | 42 | 21.5% | |
| 2 | Cooking area, kitchen | 24 | 12.3% | |
| 3 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 21 | 10.8% | |
| 4 | Outside area, other | 14 | 7.2% | |
| 5 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 12 | 6.2% | |
| 6 | Highway, parking lot, street: on or near | 9 | 4.6% | |
| 7 | Other | 8 | 4.1% | |
| 8 | Bedroom - < 5 persons; included are jail or prison | 7 | 3.6% | |
| 9 | Interior stairway or ramp | 6 | 3.1% | |
| 10 | Vehicle area, other | 6 | 3.1% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 46 | 23.6% |
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 Glendale mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 123 | 63.1% | |
| 2 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 14 | 7.2% | |
| 3 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 12 | 6.2% | |
| 4 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 10 | 5.1% | |
| 5 | Arcing | 6 | 3.1% | |
| 6 | Hot ember or ash | 4 | 2.1% | |
| 7 | Cigarette | 4 | 2.1% | |
| 8 | Heat, spark from friction | 3 | 1.5% | |
| 9 | Candle | 3 | 1.5% | |
| 10 | Heat source: other | 2 | 1.0% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 14 | 7.2% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Glendale departments in 2025. These 8 fires alone account for 92% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $50,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 2 | $50,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $40,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 4 | $20,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 5 | $15,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 6 | $10,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 7 | $9,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 8 | $7,500 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Glendale sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 5,517 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2003 | Arson/incendiarism | 1,100 | 46.7 mi | |
| 1994 | Arson/incendiarism | 1,015 | 49.2 mi | |
| 2014 | Debris and open burning | 364 | 47.1 mi | |
| 2002 | Natural | 360 | 42.0 mi | |
| 2002 | Arson/incendiarism | 325 | 45.8 mi | |
| 2005 | Debris and open burning | 280 | 44.5 mi | |
| 2018 | Debris and open burning | 252 | 42.8 mi | |
| 2003 | Debris and open burning | 250 | 43.4 mi | |
| 2010 | Natural | 200 | 20.0 mi | |
| 2010 | Natural | 180 | 20.4 mi | |
| 2005 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 150 | 49.5 mi | |
| 2003 | Equipment and vehicle use | 138 | 48.9 mi |
Top 10 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 Glendale. 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.