In 2025, fire departments serving Muscoda responded to 22 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $185K 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 95% of all calls.
Oct peaks. Mar dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
75 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2025. $1.3M cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 11 | — | |
| 2022 | 11 | +0.0% | |
| 2023 | 16 | +45.5% | |
| 2024 | 15 | -6.2% | |
| 2025 | 22 | +46.7% |
For the 17 building fires Muscoda departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 26 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 | 7 | 26.9% | |
| 2 | Other | 3 | 11.5% | |
| 3 | Structural area, other | 2 | 7.7% | |
| 4 | Wall assembly | 2 | 7.7% | |
| 5 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 2 | 7.7% | |
| 6 | Function area, other | 1 | 3.8% | |
| 7 | Bathroom, checkroom, lavatory, locker room | 1 | 3.8% | |
| 8 | Storage area, other | 1 | 3.8% | |
| 9 | Storage: supplies or tools; dead storage | 1 | 3.8% | |
| 10 | Substructure area or space, crawl space | 1 | 3.8% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 5 | 19.2% |
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 Muscoda mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 14 | 53.8% | |
| 2 | Arcing | 4 | 15.4% | |
| 3 | Hot ember or ash | 3 | 11.5% | |
| 4 | Flame/torch used for lighting | 2 | 7.7% | |
| 5 | Heat source: other | 1 | 3.8% | |
| 6 | Fireworks | 1 | 3.8% | |
| 7 | Heat spread from another fire, other | 1 | 3.8% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Muscoda departments in 2025. These 6 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $185,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 2 | $150,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $125,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 4 | $10,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 5 | $5,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 6 | $2,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Muscoda sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 3,653 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1999 | Arson/incendiarism | 1,400 | 7.3 mi | |
| 2015 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 189 | 23.3 mi | |
| 2012 | Equipment and vehicle use | 166 | 48.0 mi | |
| 2018 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 165 | 44.4 mi | |
| 2000 | Railroad operations and maintenance | 140 | 45.1 mi | |
| 2018 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 130 | 23.9 mi | |
| 2018 | Debris and open burning | 125 | 27.5 mi | |
| 2003 | Debris and open burning | 104 | 23.6 mi | |
| 2009 | Power generation/transmission/distribution | 100 | 17.3 mi | |
| 2018 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 100 | 44.1 mi | |
| 2004 | Debris and open burning | 88 | 34.2 mi | |
| 1995 | Smoking | 84 | 35.3 mi |
Top 1 ZIP codes by NFIRS incident count across 2021–2025. Each ZIP has its own fire profile — dive in for neighborhood-level context.
| # | ZIP | 5-yr incidents | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 53573 | 75 |
Six Wisconsin cities with population within ±25% of Muscoda. 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.