In 2025, fire departments serving Mauston responded to 59 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $60K building blaze. Here's the full picture.
Gas leak (natural gas or LPG) lead by count. Building fires lead by dollars. Together the top five categories make up about 43% of all calls.
Apr peaks. Jun dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
270 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2025. $2.5M cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 50 | — | |
| 2022 | 50 | +0.0% | |
| 2023 | 57 | +14.0% | |
| 2024 | 54 | -5.3% | |
| 2025 | 59 | +9.3% |
For the 2 building fires Mauston departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 74 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 | 22 | 29.7% | |
| 2 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 15 | 20.3% | |
| 3 | Vehicle area, other | 6 | 8.1% | |
| 4 | Other | 3 | 4.1% | |
| 5 | Bedroom - < 5 persons; included are jail or prison | 3 | 4.1% | |
| 6 | Operator/passenger area of transportation equip. | 3 | 4.1% | |
| 7 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 3 | 4.1% | |
| 8 | Exterior stairway, ramp, or fire escape | 2 | 2.7% | |
| 9 | Ceiling & floor assembly, crawl space b/t stories | 2 | 2.7% | |
| 10 | Wall surface: exterior | 2 | 2.7% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 13 | 17.6% |
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 Mauston mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 52 | 70.3% | |
| 2 | Heat source: other | 5 | 6.8% | |
| 3 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 3 | 4.1% | |
| 4 | Cigarette | 3 | 4.1% | |
| 5 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 2 | 2.7% | |
| 6 | Arcing | 2 | 2.7% | |
| 7 | Hot ember or ash | 2 | 2.7% | |
| 8 | Heat spread from another fire, other | 2 | 2.7% | |
| 9 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 1 | 1.4% | |
| 10 | Heat, spark from friction | 1 | 1.4% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 1 | 1.4% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Mauston departments in 2025. These 7 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $60,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 2 | $25,000 | Fire, other | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $10,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 4 | $5,000 | Road freight or transport vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 5 | $4,000 | Chimney or flue fire, confined to chimney or flue | Significant | Investigated |
| 6 | $1,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 7 | $250 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Mauston sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 9,126 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 | 24.3 mi | |
| 1999 | Arson/incendiarism | 1,400 | 43.0 mi | |
| 2003 | Debris and open burning | 572 | 38.7 mi | |
| 2003 | Arson/incendiarism | 484 | 47.9 mi | |
| 2003 | Debris and open burning | 384 | 20.0 mi | |
| 2015 | Railroad operations and maintenance | 337 | 15.7 mi | |
| 1997 | Debris and open burning | 300 | 45.5 mi | |
| 2020 | Recreation and ceremony | 234 | 18.8 mi | |
| 2014 | Arson/incendiarism | 180 | 38.8 mi | |
| 2000 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 170 | 40.3 mi | |
| 1992 | Equipment and vehicle use | 161 | 9.7 mi | |
| 1998 | Arson/incendiarism | 160 | 32.8 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 Mauston. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
1 departments report to NFIRS for incidents in Mauston.
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.