In 2025, fire departments serving Onalaska responded to 145 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $2.0M 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 63% of all calls.
Jan peaks. Sep dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
626 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2025. $4.9M cumulative property loss. 1 civilian deaths.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 121 | — | |
| 2022 | 92 | -24.0% | |
| 2023 | 137 | +48.9% | |
| 2024 | 131 | -4.4% | |
| 2025 | 145 | +10.7% |
For the 28 building fires Onalaska departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 134 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 | 22 | 16.4% | |
| 2 | Undetermined | 20 | 14.9% | |
| 3 | Vehicle storage area; garage, carport | 9 | 6.7% | |
| 4 | Outside area, other | 9 | 6.7% | |
| 5 | Common room, den, family room, living room, lounge | 6 | 4.5% | |
| 6 | Cooking area, kitchen | 6 | 4.5% | |
| 7 | Other | 5 | 3.7% | |
| 8 | Exterior balcony, unenclosed porch | 5 | 3.7% | |
| 9 | Storage area, other | 4 | 3.0% | |
| 10 | Exterior, exposed surface | 4 | 3.0% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 44 | 32.8% |
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 Onalaska mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 45 | 33.6% | |
| 2 | Arcing | 15 | 11.2% | |
| 3 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 13 | 9.7% | |
| 4 | Heat source: other | 9 | 6.7% | |
| 5 | Hot ember or ash | 9 | 6.7% | |
| 6 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 8 | 6.0% | |
| 7 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 7 | 5.2% | |
| 8 | Heat from other open flame or smoking materials | 5 | 3.7% | |
| 9 | Fireworks | 2 | 1.5% | |
| 10 | Cigarette | 2 | 1.5% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 19 | 14.2% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Onalaska departments in 2025. These 8 fires alone account for 98% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $2,000,000 | Building fires | Major | Investigated |
| 2 | $263,700 | Building fires | Major | Investigated |
| 3 | $200,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 4 | $150,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 5 | $150,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 6 | $50,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 7 | $50,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 8 | $30,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Onalaska sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 4,321 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | Arson/incendiarism | 1,200 | 20.7 mi | |
| 2000 | Debris and open burning | 360 | 18.9 mi | |
| 2018 | Debris and open burning | 300 | 46.9 mi | |
| 2018 | Debris and open burning | 300 | 45.3 mi | |
| 1998 | Arson/incendiarism | 295 | 44.2 mi | |
| 2012 | Equipment and vehicle use | 195 | 12.0 mi | |
| 2012 | Equipment and vehicle use | 166 | 26.4 mi | |
| 2007 | Recreation and ceremony | 159 | 32.3 mi | |
| 1999 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 124 | 24.4 mi | |
| 2003 | Debris and open burning | 104 | 41.2 mi | |
| 2009 | Equipment and vehicle use | 93 | 18.8 mi | |
| 2018 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 89 | 43.8 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 | 54650 | 626 |
Six Wisconsin cities with population within ±25% of Onalaska. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
1 departments report to NFIRS for incidents in Onalaska.
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.