In 2025, fire departments serving Montello responded to 58 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $150K building blaze. Here's the full picture.
Forest, woods or wildland fire lead by count. Building fires lead by dollars. Together the top five categories make up about 64% of all calls.
Apr peaks. Dec dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
236 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2025. $981K cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 43 | — | |
| 2022 | 49 | +14.0% | |
| 2023 | 44 | -10.2% | |
| 2024 | 42 | -4.5% | |
| 2025 | 58 | +38.1% |
For the 4 building fires Montello departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 94 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 | 45 | 47.9% | |
| 2 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 7 | 7.4% | |
| 3 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 7 | 7.4% | |
| 4 | Vehicle area, other | 6 | 6.4% | |
| 5 | Outside area, other | 4 | 4.3% | |
| 6 | Other | 3 | 3.2% | |
| 7 | Vehicle storage area; garage, carport | 3 | 3.2% | |
| 8 | Duct: hvac, cable, exhaust, heating, or AC | 3 | 3.2% | |
| 9 | Cooking area, kitchen | 2 | 2.1% | |
| 10 | Heating room or area, water heater area | 2 | 2.1% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 12 | 12.8% |
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 Montello mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 64 | 68.1% | |
| 2 | Heat source: other | 7 | 7.4% | |
| 3 | Heat spread from another fire, other | 3 | 3.2% | |
| 4 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 2 | 2.1% | |
| 5 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 2 | 2.1% | |
| 6 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 2 | 2.1% | |
| 7 | Hot ember or ash | 2 | 2.1% | |
| 8 | Heat from other open flame or smoking materials | 2 | 2.1% | |
| 9 | Cigarette | 2 | 2.1% | |
| 10 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 1 | 1.1% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 7 | 7.4% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Montello departments in 2025. These 3 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $150,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 2 | $20,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $20,000 | Fire in motor home, camper, recreational vehicle | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Montello sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 14,666 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 | 28.5 mi | |
| 2003 | Arson/incendiarism | 1,100 | 45.1 mi | |
| 1994 | Arson/incendiarism | 1,015 | 35.4 mi | |
| 2014 | Debris and open burning | 829 | 29.2 mi | |
| 1998 | Equipment and vehicle use | 630 | 29.3 mi | |
| 2006 | Debris and open burning | 612 | 31.0 mi | |
| 2003 | Debris and open burning | 572 | 12.0 mi | |
| 2003 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 508 | 42.0 mi | |
| 2003 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 500 | 44.9 mi | |
| 2003 | Arson/incendiarism | 484 | 18.8 mi | |
| 2003 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 400 | 38.6 mi | |
| 2019 | Arson/incendiarism | 385 | 39.3 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 Montello. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
1 departments report to NFIRS for incidents in Montello.
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.