In 2025, fire departments serving Medford responded to 12 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $200K 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 100% of all calls.
Feb peaks. May dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
92 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2022. $565K cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021* | 3 | — | |
| 2022 | 31 | — | |
| 2023 | 19 | -38.7% | |
| 2024 | 27 | +42.1% | |
| 2025 | 12 | -55.6% |
* Well below Medford'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.
For the 8 building fires Medford departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 30 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 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 7 | 23.3% | |
| 2 | Storage area, other | 3 | 10.0% | |
| 3 | Undetermined | 3 | 10.0% | |
| 4 | Common room, den, family room, living room, lounge | 2 | 6.7% | |
| 5 | Wall assembly | 2 | 6.7% | |
| 6 | Exterior stairway, ramp, or fire escape | 1 | 3.3% | |
| 7 | Interior stairway or ramp | 1 | 3.3% | |
| 8 | Entrance way, lobby | 1 | 3.3% | |
| 9 | Function area, other | 1 | 3.3% | |
| 10 | Cooking area, kitchen | 1 | 3.3% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 8 | 26.7% |
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 Medford mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 6 | 20.0% | |
| 2 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 6 | 20.0% | |
| 3 | Hot ember or ash | 4 | 13.3% | |
| 4 | Arcing | 3 | 10.0% | |
| 5 | Undetermined | 3 | 10.0% | |
| 6 | Heat source: other | 2 | 6.7% | |
| 7 | Candle | 2 | 6.7% | |
| 8 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 1 | 3.3% | |
| 9 | Heat, spark from friction | 1 | 3.3% | |
| 10 | Cigarette lighter | 1 | 3.3% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 1 | 3.3% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Medford departments in 2025. These 4 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $200,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 2 | $25,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $20,000 | Mobile property (vehicle) fire, other | Significant | Investigated |
| 4 | $10,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Medford sits below the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 2,436 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1994 | Recreation and ceremony | 553 | 42.2 mi | |
| 1998 | Recreation and ceremony | 250 | 43.9 mi | |
| 1996 | Smoking | 187 | 37.0 mi | |
| 2008 | Arson/incendiarism | 153 | 36.7 mi | |
| 2003 | Recreation and ceremony | 113 | 17.4 mi | |
| 2004 | Railroad operations and maintenance | 109 | 49.4 mi | |
| 2018 | Arson/incendiarism | 104 | 40.6 mi | |
| 2007 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 82 | 29.3 mi | |
| 1992 | Equipment and vehicle use | 81 | 44.6 mi | |
| 1993 | Arson/incendiarism | 75 | 38.9 mi | |
| 1996 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 65 | 44.6 mi | |
| 2006 | Debris and open burning | 60 | 20.4 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 Medford. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
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.