In 2025, fire departments serving Greendale responded to 65 fire and hazmat incidents . Here's the full picture.
Gas leak (natural gas or LPG) lead by count. Building fires lead by dollars. Together the top five categories make up about 71% of all calls.
Aug peaks. Jan dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
366 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2021. $357K cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 85 | — | |
| 2022 | 72 | -15.3% | |
| 2023 | 85 | +18.1% | |
| 2024 | 59 | -30.6% | |
| 2025 | 65 | +10.2% |
For the 8 building fires Greendale departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 75 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 | Cooking area, kitchen | 18 | 24.0% | |
| 2 | Outside area, other | 14 | 18.7% | |
| 3 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 6 | 8.0% | |
| 4 | Highway, parking lot, street: on or near | 5 | 6.7% | |
| 5 | Other | 4 | 5.3% | |
| 6 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 4 | 5.3% | |
| 7 | Egress/exit, other | 2 | 2.7% | |
| 8 | Function area, other | 2 | 2.7% | |
| 9 | Laundry area, wash house (laundry) | 2 | 2.7% | |
| 10 | Structural area, other | 2 | 2.7% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 16 | 21.3% |
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 Greendale mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 20 | 26.7% | |
| 2 | Hot ember or ash | 12 | 16.0% | |
| 3 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 9 | 12.0% | |
| 4 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 7 | 9.3% | |
| 5 | Arcing | 5 | 6.7% | |
| 6 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 4 | 5.3% | |
| 7 | Cigarette | 3 | 4.0% | |
| 8 | Cigarette lighter | 3 | 4.0% | |
| 9 | Heat source: other | 2 | 2.7% | |
| 10 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 2 | 2.7% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 8 | 10.7% |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Greendale sits below the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 4,437 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 | 47.4 mi | |
| 2015 | Misuse of fire by a minor | 750 | 38.5 mi | |
| 2003 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 450 | 38.1 mi | |
| 2002 | Natural | 360 | 48.2 mi | |
| 2012 | Arson/incendiarism | 254 | 46.3 mi | |
| 2018 | Debris and open burning | 252 | 38.7 mi | |
| 2010 | Natural | 200 | 7.7 mi | |
| 2010 | Natural | 180 | 8.0 mi | |
| 2020 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 100 | 28.2 mi | |
| 2010 | Equipment and vehicle use | 80 | 22.5 mi | |
| 2012 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 80 | 41.6 mi | |
| 2020 | Arson/incendiarism | 76 | 15.3 mi |
Top 8 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 Greendale. 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.