In 2025, fire departments serving McFarland responded to 56 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $250K 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 57% of all calls.
Oct peaks. Jan dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
277 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2023. $1.3M cumulative property loss. 1 civilian deaths.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 58 | — | |
| 2022 | 42 | -27.6% | |
| 2023 | 61 | +45.2% | |
| 2024 | 60 | -1.6% | |
| 2025 | 56 | -6.7% |
For the 1 building fires McFarland departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 51 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 | 12 | 23.5% | |
| 2 | Cooking area, kitchen | 7 | 13.7% | |
| 3 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 6 | 11.8% | |
| 4 | Chute/container - trash, rubbish, waste | 3 | 5.9% | |
| 5 | Outside area, other | 3 | 5.9% | |
| 6 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 3 | 5.9% | |
| 7 | Other | 2 | 3.9% | |
| 8 | Bedroom - < 5 persons; included are jail or prison | 2 | 3.9% | |
| 9 | Exterior balcony, unenclosed porch | 2 | 3.9% | |
| 10 | Courtyard, patio, porch, terrace | 2 | 3.9% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 9 | 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 McFarland mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 25 | 49.0% | |
| 2 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 7 | 13.7% | |
| 3 | Hot ember or ash | 4 | 7.8% | |
| 4 | Arcing | 3 | 5.9% | |
| 5 | Molten, hot material | 3 | 5.9% | |
| 6 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 2 | 3.9% | |
| 7 | Heat source: other | 1 | 2.0% | |
| 8 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 1 | 2.0% | |
| 9 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 1 | 2.0% | |
| 10 | Fireworks | 1 | 2.0% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 3 | 5.9% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by McFarland departments in 2025. These 4 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $250,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Major | Investigated |
| 2 | $2,265 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $1,600 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 4 | $1,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. McFarland sits below the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 9,989 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 | 18.7 mi | |
| 2003 | Arson/incendiarism | 1,100 | 27.3 mi | |
| 1994 | Arson/incendiarism | 1,015 | 48.5 mi | |
| 2009 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 617 | 30.7 mi | |
| 2006 | Debris and open burning | 612 | 46.3 mi | |
| 1999 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 580 | 19.2 mi | |
| 2016 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 500 | 35.8 mi | |
| 2003 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 500 | 9.0 mi | |
| 2003 | Arson/incendiarism | 484 | 36.4 mi | |
| 2014 | Debris and open burning | 364 | 45.9 mi | |
| 2002 | Natural | 360 | 45.7 mi | |
| 2003 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 300 | 34.6 mi |
Top 3 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 McFarland. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
1 departments report to NFIRS for incidents in McFarland.
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.