In 2025, fire departments serving Marshfield responded to 125 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $309K 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 65% of all calls.
Dec peaks. Sep dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
785 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2023. $2.1M cumulative property loss. 4 civilian deaths.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 152 | — | |
| 2022 | 172 | +13.2% | |
| 2023 | 189 | +9.9% | |
| 2024 | 147 | -22.2% | |
| 2025 | 125 | -15.0% |
For the 41 building fires Marshfield departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 201 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 | 36 | 17.9% | |
| 2 | Cooking area, kitchen | 21 | 10.4% | |
| 3 | Outside area, other | 20 | 10.0% | |
| 4 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 16 | 8.0% | |
| 5 | Storage area, other | 12 | 6.0% | |
| 6 | Other | 8 | 4.0% | |
| 7 | Attic: vacant, crawl space above top story, cupola | 6 | 3.0% | |
| 8 | Wall surface: exterior | 6 | 3.0% | |
| 9 | Bathroom, checkroom, lavatory, locker room | 5 | 2.5% | |
| 10 | Processing/manufacturing area, workroom | 5 | 2.5% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 66 | 32.8% |
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 Marshfield mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 74 | 36.8% | |
| 2 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 28 | 13.9% | |
| 3 | Arcing | 17 | 8.5% | |
| 4 | Heat source: other | 13 | 6.5% | |
| 5 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 11 | 5.5% | |
| 6 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 9 | 4.5% | |
| 7 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 7 | 3.5% | |
| 8 | Heat, spark from friction | 7 | 3.5% | |
| 9 | Cigarette | 7 | 3.5% | |
| 10 | Hot ember or ash | 6 | 3.0% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 22 | 10.9% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Marshfield departments in 2025. These 7 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $308,726 | Building fires | Major | Investigated |
| 2 | $100,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $50,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 4 | $25,000 | Fire, other | Significant | Investigated |
| 5 | $10,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 6 | $7,500 | Mobile property (vehicle) fire, other | Significant | Investigated |
| 7 | $1,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Marshfield sits below the national average for incidents per resident.
12 fire-related casualties recorded in NFIRS Module 11 across the 2021–2025 window. Age, gender, and severity are coarse-binned — no individual identification possible.
| Age | Count | |
|---|---|---|
| 0-9 | 0 | |
| 10-19 | 0 | |
| 20-29 | 3 | |
| 30-39 | 2 | |
| 40-49 | 1 | |
| 50-59 | 0 | |
| 60-69 | 2 | |
| 70-79 | 3 | |
| 80+ | 1 |
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 7,506 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 | 45.8 mi | |
| 1994 | Recreation and ceremony | 553 | 40.4 mi | |
| 2003 | Debris and open burning | 384 | 40.6 mi | |
| 2015 | Railroad operations and maintenance | 337 | 44.2 mi | |
| 1997 | Debris and open burning | 300 | 37.0 mi | |
| 1998 | Recreation and ceremony | 250 | 41.3 mi | |
| 2020 | Recreation and ceremony | 234 | 41.1 mi | |
| 1996 | Smoking | 187 | 14.6 mi | |
| 2000 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 170 | 30.9 mi | |
| 1998 | Arson/incendiarism | 160 | 33.9 mi | |
| 2007 | Recreation and ceremony | 159 | 41.7 mi | |
| 2008 | Arson/incendiarism | 153 | 15.6 mi |
Top 2 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 Marshfield. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
5 departments report to NFIRS for incidents in Marshfield.
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.