In 2025, fire departments serving New London responded to 49 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $10K building blaze. Here's the full picture.
Carbon monoxide incident lead by count. Building fires lead by dollars. Together the top five categories make up about 61% of all calls.
Jun peaks. Sep dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
251 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2022. $1.2M cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 44 | — | |
| 2022 | 58 | +31.8% | |
| 2023 | 49 | -15.5% | |
| 2024 | 51 | +4.1% | |
| 2025 | 49 | -3.9% |
For the 4 building fires New London departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 50 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 | 15 | 30.0% | |
| 2 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 6 | 12.0% | |
| 3 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 4 | 8.0% | |
| 4 | Exterior balcony, unenclosed porch | 3 | 6.0% | |
| 5 | Other | 2 | 4.0% | |
| 6 | Common room, den, family room, living room, lounge | 2 | 4.0% | |
| 7 | Vehicle storage area; garage, carport | 2 | 4.0% | |
| 8 | Wall assembly | 2 | 4.0% | |
| 9 | Vehicle area, other | 2 | 4.0% | |
| 10 | Bedroom - < 5 persons; included are jail or prison | 1 | 2.0% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 11 | 22.0% |
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 London mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 14 | 28.0% | |
| 2 | Heat source: other | 7 | 14.0% | |
| 3 | Hot ember or ash | 7 | 14.0% | |
| 4 | Arcing | 6 | 12.0% | |
| 5 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 4 | 8.0% | |
| 6 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 3 | 6.0% | |
| 7 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 2 | 4.0% | |
| 8 | Lightning | 2 | 4.0% | |
| 9 | Heat spread from another fire, other | 2 | 4.0% | |
| 10 | Heat from undetermined smoking material | 1 | 2.0% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 2 | 4.0% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by New London departments in 2025. These 7 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $10,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 2 | $10,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $9,000 | Off-road vehicle or heavy equipment fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 4 | $2,500 | Arcing, shorted electrical equipment | Significant | Investigated |
| 5 | $2,500 | Cooking fire, confined to container | Significant | Investigated |
| 6 | $2,500 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 7 | $2,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. New London sits below the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 6,665 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2014 | Debris and open burning | 829 | 47.2 mi | |
| 1998 | Equipment and vehicle use | 630 | 47.0 mi | |
| 2003 | Debris and open burning | 572 | 41.8 mi | |
| 2003 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 508 | 44.7 mi | |
| 2003 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 400 | 24.4 mi | |
| 2019 | Arson/incendiarism | 385 | 14.4 mi | |
| 2015 | Railroad operations and maintenance | 366 | 12.2 mi | |
| 1999 | Debris and open burning | 320 | 19.4 mi | |
| 2020 | Arson/incendiarism | 320 | 14.4 mi | |
| 1997 | Debris and open burning | 300 | 41.0 mi | |
| 2014 | Debris and open burning | 275 | 15.8 mi | |
| 2020 | Equipment and vehicle use | 262 | 21.1 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 | 54961 | 251 |
Six Wisconsin cities with population within ±25% of New London. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
1 departments report to NFIRS for incidents in New London.
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.