In 2025, fire departments serving Merrillan responded to 12 fire and hazmat incidents . Here's the full picture.
Brush, or brush and grass mixture fire lead by count. Building fires lead by dollars. Together the top five categories make up about 83% of all calls.
May peaks. Jan dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
76 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2024. $166K cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 12 | — | |
| 2022 | 18 | +50.0% | |
| 2023 | 12 | -33.3% | |
| 2024 | 22 | +83.3% | |
| 2025 | 12 | -45.5% |
For the 0 building fires Merrillan departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 6 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 | 3 | 50.0% | |
| 2 | Service facilities, other | 1 | 16.7% | |
| 3 | Duct: hvac, cable, exhaust, heating, or AC | 1 | 16.7% | |
| 4 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 1 | 16.7% |
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 Merrillan mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 2 | 33.3% | |
| 2 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 1 | 16.7% | |
| 3 | Arcing | 1 | 16.7% | |
| 4 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 1 | 16.7% | |
| 5 | Hot ember or ash | 1 | 16.7% |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Merrillan sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 4,930 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | Arson/incendiarism | 1,200 | 35.1 mi | |
| 1994 | Recreation and ceremony | 553 | 21.0 mi | |
| 2003 | Debris and open burning | 384 | 40.6 mi | |
| 2000 | Debris and open burning | 360 | 25.8 mi | |
| 2015 | Railroad operations and maintenance | 337 | 46.0 mi | |
| 1998 | Recreation and ceremony | 250 | 20.1 mi | |
| 2020 | Recreation and ceremony | 234 | 44.0 mi | |
| 2007 | Recreation and ceremony | 159 | 15.5 mi | |
| 2018 | Debris and open burning | 124 | 37.3 mi | |
| 2018 | Debris and open burning | 122 | 35.8 mi | |
| 2003 | Recreation and ceremony | 113 | 44.4 mi | |
| 2005 | Debris and open burning | 112 | 39.3 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 Merrillan. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
2 departments report to NFIRS for incidents in Merrillan.
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.