In 2025, fire departments serving Hammond responded to 25 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $12K 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 56% of all calls.
Jul peaks. Jan dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
106 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2023. $748K cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 15 | — | |
| 2022 | 15 | +0.0% | |
| 2023 | 31 | +106.7% | |
| 2024 | 20 | -35.5% | |
| 2025 | 25 | +25.0% |
For the 1 building fires Hammond departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 24 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 | 6 | 25.0% | |
| 2 | Outside area, other | 3 | 12.5% | |
| 3 | Undetermined | 3 | 12.5% | |
| 4 | Vehicle storage area; garage, carport | 2 | 8.3% | |
| 5 | Wall surface: exterior | 2 | 8.3% | |
| 6 | Highway, parking lot, street: on or near | 2 | 8.3% | |
| 7 | Common room, den, family room, living room, lounge | 1 | 4.2% | |
| 8 | Bathroom, checkroom, lavatory, locker room | 1 | 4.2% | |
| 9 | Substructure area or space, crawl space | 1 | 4.2% | |
| 10 | Cargo/trunk area - all vehicles | 1 | 4.2% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 2 | 8.3% |
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 Hammond mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 7 | 29.2% | |
| 2 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 4 | 16.7% | |
| 3 | Heat source: other | 3 | 12.5% | |
| 4 | Arcing | 2 | 8.3% | |
| 5 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 1 | 4.2% | |
| 6 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 1 | 4.2% | |
| 7 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 1 | 4.2% | |
| 8 | Heat, spark from friction | 1 | 4.2% | |
| 9 | Hot ember or ash | 1 | 4.2% | |
| 10 | Candle | 1 | 4.2% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 2 | 8.3% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Hammond departments in 2025. These 3 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $12,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 2 | $5,000 | Road freight or transport vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $500 | Fire, other | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Hammond sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 16,396 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 | 41.3 mi | |
| 2009 | Arson/incendiarism | 2,550 | 39.6 mi | |
| 2004 | Recreation and ceremony | 1,000 | 39.7 mi | |
| 2000 | Smoking | 420 | 45.7 mi | |
| 2009 | Fireworks | 390 | 33.9 mi | |
| 2010 | Equipment and vehicle use | 336 | 46.7 mi | |
| 1999 | Railroad operations and maintenance | 306 | 46.5 mi | |
| 2005 | Debris and open burning | 260 | 9.7 mi | |
| 2004 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 250 | 39.7 mi | |
| 2007 | Recreation and ceremony | 248 | 40.4 mi | |
| 1999 | Arson/incendiarism | 217 | 39.7 mi | |
| 1995 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 200 | 42.3 mi |
Top 2 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 Hammond. 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.