In 2025, fire departments serving Iola responded to 21 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $300K 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 81% of all calls.
Jun peaks. Jan dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
143 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2022. $1.5M cumulative property loss. 1 civilian deaths.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 22 | — | |
| 2022 | 37 | +68.2% | |
| 2023 | 29 | -21.6% | |
| 2024 | 34 | +17.2% | |
| 2025 | 21 | -38.2% |
For the 11 building fires Iola departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 28 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 | 11 | 39.3% | |
| 2 | Cooking area, kitchen | 2 | 7.1% | |
| 3 | Structural area, other | 2 | 7.1% | |
| 4 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 2 | 7.1% | |
| 5 | Wildland, woods | 2 | 7.1% | |
| 6 | Bedroom - < 5 persons; included are jail or prison | 1 | 3.6% | |
| 7 | Laundry area, wash house (laundry) | 1 | 3.6% | |
| 8 | Incinerator area | 1 | 3.6% | |
| 9 | Ceiling & floor assembly, crawl space b/t stories | 1 | 3.6% | |
| 10 | Wall surface: exterior | 1 | 3.6% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 4 | 14.3% |
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 Iola mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 12 | 42.9% | |
| 2 | Heat source: other | 4 | 14.3% | |
| 3 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 3 | 10.7% | |
| 4 | Arcing | 2 | 7.1% | |
| 5 | Hot ember or ash | 2 | 7.1% | |
| 6 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 1 | 3.6% | |
| 7 | Cigarette | 1 | 3.6% | |
| 8 | Lightning | 1 | 3.6% | |
| 9 | Flying brand, ember, spark | 1 | 3.6% | |
| 10 | Conducted heat from another fire | 1 | 3.6% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Iola departments in 2025. These 4 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $300,000 | Building fires | Major | Investigated |
| 2 | $8,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $1,500 | Heat from short circuit (wiring), defective/worn | Significant | Investigated |
| 4 | $100 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Iola sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 8,603 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2005 | Debris and open burning | 3,410 | 43.8 mi | |
| 2003 | Debris and open burning | 572 | 38.8 mi | |
| 2003 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 400 | 39.8 mi | |
| 2019 | Arson/incendiarism | 385 | 28.6 mi | |
| 2015 | Railroad operations and maintenance | 366 | 30.9 mi | |
| 1999 | Debris and open burning | 320 | 17.1 mi | |
| 2020 | Arson/incendiarism | 320 | 28.6 mi | |
| 1997 | Debris and open burning | 300 | 24.5 mi | |
| 2014 | Debris and open burning | 275 | 29.9 mi | |
| 2020 | Equipment and vehicle use | 262 | 30.8 mi | |
| 1996 | Smoking | 187 | 39.8 mi | |
| 2003 | Arson/incendiarism | 170 | 41.6 mi |
Top 3 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 Iola. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
1 departments report to NFIRS for incidents in Iola.
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.