In 2025, fire departments serving Monroe responded to 75 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $24K 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 55% of all calls.
Mar peaks. Sep dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
363 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2024. $1.5M cumulative property loss. 2 civilian deaths.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 82 | — | |
| 2022 | 56 | -31.7% | |
| 2023 | 54 | -3.6% | |
| 2024 | 96 | +77.8% | |
| 2025 | 75 | -21.9% |
For the 18 building fires Monroe departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 122 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 | Cooking area, kitchen | 22 | 18.0% | |
| 2 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 19 | 15.6% | |
| 3 | Outside area, other | 19 | 15.6% | |
| 4 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 8 | 6.6% | |
| 5 | Vehicle area, other | 7 | 5.7% | |
| 6 | Undetermined | 6 | 4.9% | |
| 7 | Other | 5 | 4.1% | |
| 8 | Bedroom - < 5 persons; included are jail or prison | 4 | 3.3% | |
| 9 | Wall surface: exterior | 4 | 3.3% | |
| 10 | Fuel tank, fuel line | 4 | 3.3% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 24 | 19.7% |
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 Monroe mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 35 | 28.7% | |
| 2 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 15 | 12.3% | |
| 3 | Cigarette | 11 | 9.0% | |
| 4 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 9 | 7.4% | |
| 5 | Arcing | 9 | 7.4% | |
| 6 | Heat source: other | 7 | 5.7% | |
| 7 | Heat from direct flame, convection currents | 6 | 4.9% | |
| 8 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 5 | 4.1% | |
| 9 | Hot ember or ash | 5 | 4.1% | |
| 10 | Flying brand, ember, spark | 4 | 3.3% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 16 | 13.1% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Monroe departments in 2025. These 3 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $24,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 2 | $13,540 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $10,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Monroe sits below the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 5,337 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 | 19.7 mi | |
| 2009 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 617 | 4.7 mi | |
| 1999 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 580 | 19.9 mi | |
| 2016 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 500 | 17.5 mi | |
| 2003 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 500 | 40.3 mi | |
| 2012 | Arson/incendiarism | 254 | 46.9 mi | |
| 2006 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 200 | 46.7 mi | |
| 2004 | Smoking | 169 | 20.5 mi | |
| 2018 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 130 | 33.1 mi | |
| 2018 | Debris and open burning | 125 | 29.6 mi | |
| 2010 | Debris and open burning | 100 | 47.6 mi | |
| 2009 | Power generation/transmission/distribution | 100 | 43.0 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 Monroe. 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.