In 2025, fire departments serving Little Chute responded to 98 fire and hazmat incidents . Here's the full picture.
Vehicle accident, general cleanup lead by count. Building fires lead by dollars. Together the top five categories make up about 76% of all calls.
Oct peaks. Dec dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
467 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2024. $1.5M cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 79 | — | |
| 2022 | 83 | +5.1% | |
| 2023 | 79 | -4.8% | |
| 2024 | 128 | +62.0% | |
| 2025 | 98 | -23.4% |
For the 6 building fires Little Chute departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 44 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 | 15 | 34.1% | |
| 2 | Vehicle storage area; garage, carport | 6 | 13.6% | |
| 3 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 5 | 11.4% | |
| 4 | Other | 3 | 6.8% | |
| 5 | Vehicle area, other | 3 | 6.8% | |
| 6 | Common room, den, family room, living room, lounge | 1 | 2.3% | |
| 7 | Function area, other | 1 | 2.3% | |
| 8 | Cooking area, kitchen | 1 | 2.3% | |
| 9 | Laundry area, wash house (laundry) | 1 | 2.3% | |
| 10 | Storage area, other | 1 | 2.3% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 7 | 15.9% |
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 Little Chute mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 27 | 61.4% | |
| 2 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 6 | 13.6% | |
| 3 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 4 | 9.1% | |
| 4 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 3 | 6.8% | |
| 5 | Heat source: other | 2 | 4.5% | |
| 6 | Heat, spark from friction | 1 | 2.3% | |
| 7 | Chemical reaction | 1 | 2.3% |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Little Chute sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 5,985 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2014 | Debris and open burning | 829 | 45.5 mi | |
| 1998 | Equipment and vehicle use | 630 | 45.3 mi | |
| 2003 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 508 | 36.7 mi | |
| 2003 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 400 | 23.1 mi | |
| 2019 | Arson/incendiarism | 385 | 23.0 mi | |
| 2015 | Railroad operations and maintenance | 366 | 15.6 mi | |
| 1999 | Debris and open burning | 320 | 37.9 mi | |
| 2020 | Arson/incendiarism | 320 | 23.0 mi | |
| 2014 | Debris and open burning | 275 | 23.1 mi | |
| 2020 | Equipment and vehicle use | 262 | 29.9 mi | |
| 2004 | Debris and open burning | 215 | 46.0 mi | |
| 2003 | Arson/incendiarism | 170 | 47.9 mi |
Top 6 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 Little Chute. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
1 departments report to NFIRS for incidents in Little Chute.
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.