In 2025, fire departments serving Jefferson responded to 62 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $15K 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 73% of all calls.
Apr peaks. Feb dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
358 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2024. $1.2M cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 43 | — | |
| 2022 | 51 | +18.6% | |
| 2023 | 99 | +94.1% | |
| 2024 | 103 | +4.0% | |
| 2025 | 62 | -39.8% |
For the 28 building fires Jefferson departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 86 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 | 12 | 14.0% | |
| 2 | Cooking area, kitchen | 11 | 12.8% | |
| 3 | Outside area, other | 9 | 10.5% | |
| 4 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 9 | 10.5% | |
| 5 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 7 | 8.1% | |
| 6 | Wildland, woods | 6 | 7.0% | |
| 7 | Common room, den, family room, living room, lounge | 3 | 3.5% | |
| 8 | Chute/container - trash, rubbish, waste | 3 | 3.5% | |
| 9 | Vehicle storage area; garage, carport | 3 | 3.5% | |
| 10 | Other | 2 | 2.3% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 21 | 24.4% |
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 Jefferson mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 30 | 34.9% | |
| 2 | Hot ember or ash | 11 | 12.8% | |
| 3 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 10 | 11.6% | |
| 4 | Arcing | 7 | 8.1% | |
| 5 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 7 | 8.1% | |
| 6 | Heat spread from another fire, other | 4 | 4.7% | |
| 7 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 2 | 2.3% | |
| 8 | Fireworks | 2 | 2.3% | |
| 9 | Cigarette | 2 | 2.3% | |
| 10 | Cigarette lighter | 2 | 2.3% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 9 | 10.5% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Jefferson departments in 2025. These 2 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $15,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 2 | $1,000 | Water vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Jefferson sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 11,521 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | Equipment and vehicle use | 1,100 | 30.7 mi | |
| 2003 | Arson/incendiarism | 1,100 | 16.9 mi | |
| 1994 | Arson/incendiarism | 1,015 | 39.9 mi | |
| 2014 | Debris and open burning | 829 | 48.9 mi | |
| 1998 | Equipment and vehicle use | 630 | 49.1 mi | |
| 2009 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 617 | 48.7 mi | |
| 2006 | Debris and open burning | 612 | 40.1 mi | |
| 1999 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 580 | 30.6 mi | |
| 2016 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 500 | 43.4 mi | |
| 2003 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 500 | 28.5 mi | |
| 2003 | Arson/incendiarism | 484 | 41.8 mi | |
| 2014 | Debris and open burning | 364 | 36.5 mi |
Top 4 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 Jefferson. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
1 departments report to NFIRS for incidents in Jefferson.
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.