In 2025, fire departments serving New Glarus responded to 13 fire and hazmat incidents . Here's the full picture.
Building fires lead by count. Building fires lead by dollars. Together the top five categories make up about 92% of all calls.
Apr peaks. Jan dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
76 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2022. $15K cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 12 | — | |
| 2022 | 23 | +91.7% | |
| 2023 | 16 | -30.4% | |
| 2024 | 12 | -25.0% | |
| 2025 | 13 | +8.3% |
For the 5 building fires New Glarus departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 20 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 | 8 | 40.0% | |
| 2 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 6 | 30.0% | |
| 3 | Undetermined | 3 | 15.0% | |
| 4 | Vehicle storage area; garage, carport | 1 | 5.0% | |
| 5 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 1 | 5.0% | |
| 6 | Exterior, exposed surface | 1 | 5.0% |
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 Glarus mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 5 | 25.0% | |
| 2 | Hot ember or ash | 3 | 15.0% | |
| 3 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 2 | 10.0% | |
| 4 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 2 | 10.0% | |
| 5 | Flame/torch used for lighting | 2 | 10.0% | |
| 6 | Heat spread from another fire, other | 2 | 10.0% | |
| 7 | Flying brand, ember, spark | 2 | 10.0% | |
| 8 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 1 | 5.0% | |
| 9 | Heat from direct flame, convection currents | 1 | 5.0% |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. New Glarus sits below the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 7,061 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 | 42.4 mi | |
| 2000 | Equipment and vehicle use | 1,100 | 17.2 mi | |
| 2009 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 617 | 9.9 mi | |
| 1999 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 580 | 17.8 mi | |
| 2016 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 500 | 26.7 mi | |
| 2003 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 500 | 27.2 mi | |
| 2003 | Arson/incendiarism | 290 | 42.5 mi | |
| 2012 | Arson/incendiarism | 254 | 39.3 mi | |
| 2018 | Debris and open burning | 252 | 46.3 mi | |
| 2004 | Smoking | 169 | 17.8 mi | |
| 2012 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 139 | 43.0 mi | |
| 2018 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 130 | 25.1 mi |
Top 2 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 Glarus. 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.