In 2025, fire departments serving Oconto Falls responded to 79 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $325K 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 62% of all calls.
Jan peaks. Jul dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
284 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2021. $1.6M cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 81 | — | |
| 2022 | 38 | -53.1% | |
| 2023 | 48 | +26.3% | |
| 2024 | 38 | -20.8% | |
| 2025 | 79 | +107.9% |
For the 27 building fires Oconto Falls departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 42 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 | 8 | 19.0% | |
| 2 | Undetermined | 7 | 16.7% | |
| 3 | Other | 3 | 7.1% | |
| 4 | Cooking area, kitchen | 3 | 7.1% | |
| 5 | Chute/container - trash, rubbish, waste | 3 | 7.1% | |
| 6 | Vehicle storage area; garage, carport | 2 | 4.8% | |
| 7 | Equipment or service area, other | 2 | 4.8% | |
| 8 | Substructure area or space, crawl space | 2 | 4.8% | |
| 9 | Wall assembly | 2 | 4.8% | |
| 10 | Vehicle area, other | 2 | 4.8% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 8 | 19.0% |
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 Oconto Falls mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 21 | 50.0% | |
| 2 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 5 | 11.9% | |
| 3 | Heat source: other | 4 | 9.5% | |
| 4 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 3 | 7.1% | |
| 5 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 2 | 4.8% | |
| 6 | Arcing | 2 | 4.8% | |
| 7 | Hot ember or ash | 2 | 4.8% | |
| 8 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 1 | 2.4% | |
| 9 | Fireworks | 1 | 2.4% | |
| 10 | Heat from other open flame or smoking materials | 1 | 2.4% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Oconto Falls departments in 2025. These 8 fires alone account for 97% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $325,000 | Building fires | Major | Investigated |
| 2 | $150,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $120,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 4 | $100,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 5 | $50,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 6 | $30,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 7 | $30,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 8 | $30,000 | Off-road vehicle or heavy equipment fire | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Oconto Falls sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 2,242 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2015 | Railroad operations and maintenance | 366 | 49.9 mi | |
| 2007 | Arson/incendiarism | 275 | 26.3 mi | |
| 2004 | Debris and open burning | 215 | 13.3 mi | |
| 2015 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 133 | 18.5 mi | |
| 2014 | Natural | 110 | 30.5 mi | |
| 2015 | Arson/incendiarism | 103 | 25.8 mi | |
| 1999 | Smoking | 100 | 33.6 mi | |
| 2007 | Arson/incendiarism | 94 | 43.0 mi | |
| 2005 | Debris and open burning | 75 | 16.7 mi | |
| 2001 | Other causes | 73 | 40.0 mi | |
| 1999 | Recreation and ceremony | 65 | 24.2 mi | |
| 1999 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 64 | 33.4 mi |
Top 4 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 Oconto Falls. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
1 departments report to NFIRS for incidents in Oconto Falls.
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.