In 2025, fire departments serving New Berlin responded to 258 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $800K building blaze. Here's the full picture.
Gas leak (natural gas or LPG) lead by count. Building fires lead by dollars. Together the top five categories make up about 59% of all calls.
Aug peaks. Dec dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
1,251 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2024. $3.6M cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 261 | — | |
| 2022 | 230 | -11.9% | |
| 2023 | 214 | -7.0% | |
| 2024 | 288 | +34.6% | |
| 2025 | 258 | -10.4% |
For the 39 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 138 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 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 33 | 23.9% | |
| 2 | Cooking area, kitchen | 16 | 11.6% | |
| 3 | Vehicle storage area; garage, carport | 8 | 5.8% | |
| 4 | Vehicle area, other | 7 | 5.1% | |
| 5 | Other | 5 | 3.6% | |
| 6 | Exterior, exposed surface | 5 | 3.6% | |
| 7 | Outside area, other | 5 | 3.6% | |
| 8 | Common room, den, family room, living room, lounge | 4 | 2.9% | |
| 9 | Machinery room or area; elevator machinery room | 4 | 2.9% | |
| 10 | Cargo/trunk area - all vehicles | 4 | 2.9% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 47 | 34.1% |
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 | 45 | 32.6% | |
| 2 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 34 | 24.6% | |
| 3 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 13 | 9.4% | |
| 4 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 11 | 8.0% | |
| 5 | Heat source: other | 8 | 5.8% | |
| 6 | Hot ember or ash | 6 | 4.3% | |
| 7 | Arcing | 5 | 3.6% | |
| 8 | Heat from direct flame, convection currents | 4 | 2.9% | |
| 9 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 3 | 2.2% | |
| 10 | Heat from other open flame or smoking materials | 2 | 1.4% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 7 | 5.1% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by New Berlin departments in 2025. These 8 fires alone account for 98% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $800,000 | Building fires | Major | Investigated |
| 2 | $100,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $60,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 4 | $50,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 5 | $25,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 6 | $8,000 | Fire, other | Significant | Investigated |
| 7 | $6,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 8 | $5,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
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. 6,224 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2003 | Arson/incendiarism | 1,100 | 40.6 mi | |
| 2015 | Misuse of fire by a minor | 750 | 42.9 mi | |
| 2003 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 450 | 42.4 mi | |
| 2014 | Debris and open burning | 364 | 47.5 mi | |
| 2002 | Natural | 360 | 42.4 mi | |
| 2002 | Arson/incendiarism | 325 | 47.8 mi | |
| 2003 | Arson/incendiarism | 290 | 44.3 mi | |
| 2005 | Debris and open burning | 280 | 45.1 mi | |
| 2012 | Arson/incendiarism | 254 | 39.7 mi | |
| 2018 | Debris and open burning | 252 | 32.0 mi | |
| 2003 | Debris and open burning | 250 | 45.0 mi | |
| 2010 | Natural | 200 | 6.3 mi |
Top 8 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 New Berlin. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
1 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.