In 2025, fire departments serving Howard responded to 77 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $21K 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 52% of all calls.
Mar peaks. Dec dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
468 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2022. $3.5M cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 109 | — | |
| 2022 | 138 | +26.6% | |
| 2023 | 80 | -42.0% | |
| 2024 | 64 | -20.0% | |
| 2025 | 77 | +20.3% |
For the 19 building fires Howard departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 97 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 | 21 | 21.6% | |
| 2 | Cooking area, kitchen | 17 | 17.5% | |
| 3 | Vehicle storage area; garage, carport | 6 | 6.2% | |
| 4 | Vehicle area, other | 6 | 6.2% | |
| 5 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 5 | 5.2% | |
| 6 | Wall surface: exterior | 4 | 4.1% | |
| 7 | Cargo/trunk area - all vehicles | 4 | 4.1% | |
| 8 | Outside area, other | 4 | 4.1% | |
| 9 | Undetermined | 4 | 4.1% | |
| 10 | Chute/container - trash, rubbish, waste | 3 | 3.1% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 23 | 23.7% |
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 Howard mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 34 | 35.1% | |
| 2 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 16 | 16.5% | |
| 3 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 10 | 10.3% | |
| 4 | Heat source: other | 8 | 8.2% | |
| 5 | Arcing | 7 | 7.2% | |
| 6 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 4 | 4.1% | |
| 7 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 3 | 3.1% | |
| 8 | Heat, spark from friction | 3 | 3.1% | |
| 9 | Cigarette | 3 | 3.1% | |
| 10 | Cigarette lighter | 3 | 3.1% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 6 | 6.2% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Howard departments in 2025. These 8 fires alone account for 96% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $21,000 | Road freight or transport vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 2 | $20,000 | Outside rubbish, trash or waste fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $20,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 4 | $18,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 5 | $5,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 6 | $5,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 7 | $5,000 | Cooking fire, confined to container | Significant | Investigated |
| 8 | $1,000 | Outside rubbish, trash or waste fire | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Howard sits below the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 3,497 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2003 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 400 | 45.1 mi | |
| 2019 | Arson/incendiarism | 385 | 42.4 mi | |
| 2015 | Railroad operations and maintenance | 366 | 35.0 mi | |
| 2020 | Arson/incendiarism | 320 | 42.4 mi | |
| 2014 | Debris and open burning | 275 | 43.0 mi | |
| 2007 | Arson/incendiarism | 275 | 36.5 mi | |
| 2020 | Equipment and vehicle use | 262 | 50.0 mi | |
| 2004 | Debris and open burning | 215 | 23.7 mi | |
| 2015 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 133 | 32.6 mi | |
| 2015 | Arson/incendiarism | 103 | 46.9 mi | |
| 1999 | Smoking | 100 | 21.9 mi | |
| 1994 | Arson/incendiarism | 85 | 35.5 mi |
Top 5 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 Howard. 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.