In 2025, fire departments serving Lake Mills responded to 75 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $50K 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 75% of all calls.
Nov peaks. Sep dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
300 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2023. $942K cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 47 | — | |
| 2022 | 46 | -2.1% | |
| 2023 | 87 | +89.1% | |
| 2024 | 45 | -48.3% | |
| 2025 | 75 | +66.7% |
For the 25 building fires Lake Mills departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 69 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 | 20 | 29.0% | |
| 2 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 8 | 11.6% | |
| 3 | Highway, parking lot, street: on or near | 4 | 5.8% | |
| 4 | Wildland, woods | 4 | 5.8% | |
| 5 | Undetermined | 4 | 5.8% | |
| 6 | Processing/manufacturing area, workroom | 3 | 4.3% | |
| 7 | Exterior balcony, unenclosed porch | 3 | 4.3% | |
| 8 | Exterior, exposed surface | 3 | 4.3% | |
| 9 | Heating room or area, water heater area | 2 | 2.9% | |
| 10 | Substructure area or space, crawl space | 2 | 2.9% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 16 | 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 Lake Mills mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 12 | 17.4% | |
| 2 | Arcing | 7 | 10.1% | |
| 3 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 6 | 8.7% | |
| 4 | Heat, spark from friction | 6 | 8.7% | |
| 5 | Heat source: other | 5 | 7.2% | |
| 6 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 4 | 5.8% | |
| 7 | Hot ember or ash | 4 | 5.8% | |
| 8 | Cigarette | 4 | 5.8% | |
| 9 | Radiated heat from another fire | 4 | 5.8% | |
| 10 | Multiple heat sources including multiple ignitions | 4 | 5.8% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 13 | 18.8% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Lake Mills departments in 2025. These 8 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $50,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 2 | $30,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $24,000 | Road freight or transport vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 4 | $20,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 5 | $10,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 6 | $7,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 7 | $5,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 8 | $500 | Electrical wiring/equipment problem, other | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Lake Mills sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 11,541 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 | 30.4 mi | |
| 2003 | Arson/incendiarism | 1,100 | 12.2 mi | |
| 1994 | Arson/incendiarism | 1,015 | 36.0 mi | |
| 2014 | Debris and open burning | 829 | 44.4 mi | |
| 1998 | Equipment and vehicle use | 630 | 44.7 mi | |
| 2009 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 617 | 47.2 mi | |
| 2006 | Debris and open burning | 612 | 35.5 mi | |
| 1999 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 580 | 30.4 mi | |
| 2016 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 500 | 45.0 mi | |
| 2003 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 500 | 22.4 mi | |
| 2003 | Arson/incendiarism | 484 | 35.1 mi | |
| 2014 | Debris and open burning | 364 | 32.7 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 Lake Mills. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
1 departments report to NFIRS for incidents in Lake Mills.
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.