In 2025, fire departments serving Grantsburg responded to 47 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 66% of all calls.
Mar peaks. May dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
225 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2022. $2.4M cumulative property loss. 2 civilian deaths.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 43 | — | |
| 2022 | 53 | +23.3% | |
| 2023 | 48 | -9.4% | |
| 2024 | 34 | -29.2% | |
| 2025 | 47 | +38.2% |
For the 16 building fires Grantsburg departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 77 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 | 16 | 20.8% | |
| 2 | Undetermined | 13 | 16.9% | |
| 3 | Wall surface: exterior | 5 | 6.5% | |
| 4 | Other | 4 | 5.2% | |
| 5 | Cooking area, kitchen | 4 | 5.2% | |
| 6 | Vehicle storage area; garage, carport | 4 | 5.2% | |
| 7 | Common room, den, family room, living room, lounge | 3 | 3.9% | |
| 8 | Entrance way, lobby | 2 | 2.6% | |
| 9 | Office | 2 | 2.6% | |
| 10 | Storage area, other | 2 | 2.6% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 22 | 28.6% |
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 Grantsburg mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 33 | 42.9% | |
| 2 | Arcing | 15 | 19.5% | |
| 3 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 7 | 9.1% | |
| 4 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 6 | 7.8% | |
| 5 | Hot ember or ash | 5 | 6.5% | |
| 6 | Heat source: other | 4 | 5.2% | |
| 7 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 2 | 2.6% | |
| 8 | Heat from direct flame, convection currents | 2 | 2.6% | |
| 9 | Heat from other open flame or smoking materials | 1 | 1.3% | |
| 10 | Cigarette lighter | 1 | 1.3% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 1 | 1.3% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Grantsburg departments in 2025. These 5 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $250,000 | Building fires | Major | Investigated |
| 2 | $210,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $50,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 4 | $25,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 5 | $25,000 | Mobile property (vehicle) fire, other | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Grantsburg sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 20,923 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | Debris and open burning | 8,513 | 38.9 mi | |
| 2009 | Arson/incendiarism | 2,550 | 40.0 mi | |
| 1996 | Recreation and ceremony | 1,460 | 43.6 mi | |
| 2000 | Debris and open burning | 1,350 | 18.8 mi | |
| 2004 | Railroad operations and maintenance | 835 | 21.7 mi | |
| 1999 | Equipment and vehicle use | 700 | 39.3 mi | |
| 2013 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 656 | 5.9 mi | |
| 2000 | Smoking | 420 | 35.8 mi | |
| 2004 | Railroad operations and maintenance | 358 | 21.8 mi | |
| 2010 | Equipment and vehicle use | 336 | 44.4 mi | |
| 2004 | Arson/incendiarism | 335 | 27.4 mi | |
| 1999 | Railroad operations and maintenance | 306 | 46.2 mi |
Top 4 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 Grantsburg. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
1 departments report to NFIRS for incidents in Grantsburg.
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.