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2025 Annual Fire Report

Fires in Luck, Wisconsin

In 2025, fire departments serving Luck responded to 38 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $165K building blaze. Here's the full picture.

Updated Sep 27, 2026 Grade C+ Peak yr 2025 Polk County 1,214 residents 1 reporting departments 115 5-yr
Total incidents
38
+46.2% vs 2024
Building fires
21
Residential 67% Other 33%
Property loss
$551K
$394K structure · $158K contents
Deaths & injuries
0 / 0
0 civilian deaths · 0 civ injuries · 0 firefighter injuries
01 The mix

What kinds of fires happen here?

Building fires lead by count. Building fires lead by dollars. Together the top five categories make up about 79% of all calls.

38
Total Incidents
Building fires 21 55.3%
Grass fire 3 7.9%
Fire, other 2 5.3%
Forest, woods or wildland fire 2 5.3%
Brush, or brush and grass mixture fire 2 5.3%
All other categories 8 21.1%
02 Seasonality

When do fires happen?

Feb peaks. Aug dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.

Jan 5
Feb 8
Mar 7
Apr 1
May 1
Jun 1
Jul 1
Aug 0
Sep 4
Oct 4
Nov 4
Dec 2
Fewer
More
2b Five-year trend

Year over year in Luck

115 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2025. $1.7M cumulative property loss.

YearIncidentsYoY 
2021 17 —
2022 21 +23.5%
2023* 13 —
2024 26 —
2025 38 +46.2%

* Well below Luck's usual volume. That almost always means one or more departments didn't submit a full year to NFIRS, not that fires dropped, so no year-over-year change is shown for it.

03 Cause of ignition

What sparks building fires?

For the 21 building fires Luck departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.

Unintentional
82%
9
Cause undetermined
0%
0
Intentional / arson
0%
0
Equipment / heat source failure
0%
0
Under investigation
18%
2
Act of nature (lightning)
0%
0
3b Where fires start

Where do fires start in Luck?

NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 45 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 originCountShare 
1 Storage area, other 7 15.6%
2 Outside area, other 6 13.3%
3 Open area - outside; included are farmland, field 5 11.1%
4 Wall assembly 3 6.7%
5 Wall surface: exterior 3 6.7%
6 Undetermined 3 6.7%
7 Substructure area or space, crawl space 2 4.4%
8 Roof surface: exterior 2 4.4%
9 Vehicle area, other 2 4.4%
10 Wildland, woods 2 4.4%
11 All other areas 10 22.2%
3c What ignited it

What actually ignited the fire?

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 Luck mix.

#Heat sourceCountShare 
1 Undetermined 16 35.6%
2 Hot or smoldering object, other 5 11.1%
3 Arcing 4 8.9%
4 Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment 3 6.7%
5 Heat source: other 2 4.4%
6 Heat from powered equipment, other 2 4.4%
7 Heat from other open flame or smoking materials 2 4.4%
8 Lightning 2 4.4%
9 Heat spread from another fire, other 2 4.4%
10 Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment 1 2.2%
11 All other sources 6 13.3%
04 The biggest fires

8 fires · $360K in losses

Largest single-incident property losses reported by Luck departments in 2025. These 8 fires alone account for 91% of the city's annual total.

# Property loss Type Severity Status
1 $165,000 Fire, other Significant Investigated
2 $45,000 Building fires Significant Investigated
3 $35,000 Building fires Significant Investigated
4 $25,000 Building fires Significant Investigated
5 $25,000 Building fires Significant Investigated
6 $25,000 Building fires Significant Investigated
7 $20,000 Building fires Significant Investigated
8 $20,000 Building fires Significant Investigated
05 How Luck compares

Luck vs Wisconsin vs the nation

Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Luck sits above the national average for incidents per resident.

31.3
Incidents per 1,000 residents
Luck
31.3
WI avg
8.73
US avg
7.48
17.3
Building fires per 1,000 residents
Luck
17.3
WI avg
1.74
US avg
0.85
0
Civilian fire deaths per million
Luck
0
WI avg
14.4
US avg
5.9
5c Wildfires nearby

Wildfires within 50 mi of Luck

Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 18,952 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.

50 mi radius
YearCauseAcresDistance 
2000 Debris and open burning 8,513 36.8 mi
2009 Arson/incendiarism 2,550 37.1 mi
2000 Debris and open burning 1,350 29.7 mi
2004 Railroad operations and maintenance 835 36.0 mi
2013 Missing data/not specified/undetermined 656 21.4 mi
2000 Smoking 420 36.2 mi
2004 Railroad operations and maintenance 358 38.0 mi
2010 Equipment and vehicle use 336 43.8 mi
2004 Arson/incendiarism 335 43.4 mi
1999 Railroad operations and maintenance 306 45.3 mi
2004 Railroad operations and maintenance 298 38.9 mi
2000 Debris and open burning 275 41.1 mi
5d Top ZIPs

Where in Luck do fires concentrate?

Top 3 ZIP codes by NFIRS incident count across 2021–2025. Each ZIP has its own fire profile — dive in for neighborhood-level context.

#ZIP5-yr incidents 
1 54853 113
2 54024 1
3 54810 1
5e Peer cities

Cities similar to Luck

Six Wisconsin cities with population within ±25% of Luck. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.

06 First responders

Who responds in Luck?

1 departments report to NFIRS for incidents in Luck.

Luck Rural Fire Dept
1510 S Shore DR
FDID 48110
07 Stay prepared

Before the next Red Flag day.

A 30-minute weekend can cut your home's exposure substantially. These four checklists are a good starting point.

About this data

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.