In 2025, fire departments serving New Berlin responded to 15 fire and hazmat incidents . Here's the full picture.
Hazardous condition, other lead by count. Building fires lead by dollars. Together the top five categories make up about 87% of all calls.
Mar peaks. Jan dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
103 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2023. $70K cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 29 | — | |
| 2022 | 20 | -31.0% | |
| 2023 | 30 | +50.0% | |
| 2024* | 9 | — | |
| 2025 | 15 | — |
* Well below New Berlin'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 4 building fires New Berlin departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 14 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 | Outside area, other | 2 | 14.3% | |
| 2 | Undetermined | 2 | 14.3% | |
| 3 | Common room, den, family room, living room, lounge | 1 | 7.1% | |
| 4 | Storage area, other | 1 | 7.1% | |
| 5 | Duct: hvac, cable, exhaust, heating, or AC | 1 | 7.1% | |
| 6 | Attic: vacant, crawl space above top story, cupola | 1 | 7.1% | |
| 7 | Wall assembly | 1 | 7.1% | |
| 8 | Vehicle area, other | 1 | 7.1% | |
| 9 | Cargo/trunk area - all vehicles | 1 | 7.1% | |
| 10 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 1 | 7.1% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 2 | 14.3% |
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 New Berlin mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 4 | 28.6% | |
| 2 | Heat source: other | 2 | 14.3% | |
| 3 | Arcing | 2 | 14.3% | |
| 4 | Hot ember or ash | 2 | 14.3% | |
| 5 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 1 | 7.1% | |
| 6 | Heat, spark from friction | 1 | 7.1% | |
| 7 | Heat spread from another fire, other | 1 | 7.1% | |
| 8 | Conducted heat from another fire | 1 | 7.1% |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. New Berlin sits below the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 1,010 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | Equipment and vehicle use | 100 | 44.4 mi | |
| 2007 | Natural | 65 | 45.2 mi | |
| 1997 | Debris and open burning | 60 | 38.5 mi | |
| 2015 | Railroad operations and maintenance | 53 | 39.2 mi | |
| 2003 | Arson/incendiarism | 49 | 39.6 mi | |
| 2001 | Recreation and ceremony | 47 | 49.6 mi | |
| 1995 | Debris and open burning | 45 | 21.4 mi | |
| 1997 | Debris and open burning | 40 | 42.0 mi | |
| 1999 | Debris and open burning | 40 | 26.5 mi | |
| 1999 | Natural | 40 | 25.9 mi | |
| 1999 | Debris and open burning | 40 | 49.0 mi | |
| 1999 | Smoking | 40 | 40.9 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 New York cities with population within ±25% of New Berlin. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
2 departments report to NFIRS for incidents in New Berlin.
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.