In 2025, fire departments serving Holmen responded to 81 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $250K building blaze. 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 63% of all calls.
Oct peaks. Aug dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
423 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2022. $2.4M cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 84 | — | |
| 2022 | 95 | +13.1% | |
| 2023 | 79 | -16.8% | |
| 2024 | 84 | +6.3% | |
| 2025 | 81 | -3.6% |
For the 9 building fires Holmen departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 99 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 | 17 | 17.2% | |
| 2 | Cooking area, kitchen | 13 | 13.1% | |
| 3 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 10 | 10.1% | |
| 4 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 9 | 9.1% | |
| 5 | Wildland, woods | 9 | 9.1% | |
| 6 | Other | 8 | 8.1% | |
| 7 | Vehicle storage area; garage, carport | 3 | 3.0% | |
| 8 | Exterior balcony, unenclosed porch | 3 | 3.0% | |
| 9 | Processing/manufacturing area, workroom | 2 | 2.0% | |
| 10 | Storage area, other | 2 | 2.0% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 23 | 23.2% |
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 Holmen mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 34 | 34.3% | |
| 2 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 11 | 11.1% | |
| 3 | Hot ember or ash | 9 | 9.1% | |
| 4 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 7 | 7.1% | |
| 5 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 7 | 7.1% | |
| 6 | Heat source: other | 6 | 6.1% | |
| 7 | Arcing | 5 | 5.1% | |
| 8 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 3 | 3.0% | |
| 9 | Flying brand, ember, spark | 3 | 3.0% | |
| 10 | Heat, spark from friction | 2 | 2.0% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 12 | 12.1% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Holmen departments in 2025. These 8 fires alone account for 99% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $250,000 | Off-road vehicle or heavy equipment fire | Major | Investigated |
| 2 | $180,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $59,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 4 | $16,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 5 | $10,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 6 | $9,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 7 | $5,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 8 | $4,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Holmen sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 4,147 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | Arson/incendiarism | 1,200 | 14.4 mi | |
| 2000 | Debris and open burning | 360 | 14.0 mi | |
| 2018 | Debris and open burning | 300 | 49.6 mi | |
| 1998 | Arson/incendiarism | 295 | 38.7 mi | |
| 2012 | Equipment and vehicle use | 195 | 17.3 mi | |
| 2012 | Equipment and vehicle use | 166 | 31.8 mi | |
| 2007 | Recreation and ceremony | 159 | 30.7 mi | |
| 1999 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 124 | 29.5 mi | |
| 2018 | Debris and open burning | 124 | 49.7 mi | |
| 2018 | Debris and open burning | 122 | 49.3 mi | |
| 2003 | Debris and open burning | 104 | 47.1 mi | |
| 2009 | Equipment and vehicle use | 93 | 21.1 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 | 54636 | 423 |
Six Wisconsin cities with population within ±25% of Holmen. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
1 departments report to NFIRS for incidents in Holmen.
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.