In 2025, fire departments serving Platteville responded to 90 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $500K 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 63% of all calls.
Nov peaks. Dec dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
401 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2025. $3.4M cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 79 | — | |
| 2022 | 77 | -2.5% | |
| 2023 | 76 | -1.3% | |
| 2024 | 79 | +3.9% | |
| 2025 | 90 | +13.9% |
For the 18 building fires Platteville departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 112 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 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 25 | 22.3% | |
| 2 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 19 | 17.0% | |
| 3 | Cooking area, kitchen | 8 | 7.1% | |
| 4 | Wall surface: exterior | 6 | 5.4% | |
| 5 | Undetermined | 5 | 4.5% | |
| 6 | Vehicle storage area; garage, carport | 4 | 3.6% | |
| 7 | Common room, den, family room, living room, lounge | 3 | 2.7% | |
| 8 | Bedroom - < 5 persons; included are jail or prison | 3 | 2.7% | |
| 9 | Laundry area, wash house (laundry) | 3 | 2.7% | |
| 10 | Storage room, area, tank, or bin | 3 | 2.7% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 33 | 29.5% |
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 Platteville mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 37 | 33.0% | |
| 2 | Hot ember or ash | 20 | 17.9% | |
| 3 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 13 | 11.6% | |
| 4 | Arcing | 7 | 6.2% | |
| 5 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 6 | 5.4% | |
| 6 | Flying brand, ember, spark | 4 | 3.6% | |
| 7 | Fireworks | 3 | 2.7% | |
| 8 | Cigarette | 3 | 2.7% | |
| 9 | Lightning | 3 | 2.7% | |
| 10 | Heat source: other | 2 | 1.8% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 14 | 12.5% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Platteville departments in 2025. These 8 fires alone account for 97% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $500,000 | Building fires | Major | Investigated |
| 2 | $188,800 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $120,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 4 | $65,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 5 | $62,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 6 | $50,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 7 | $20,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 8 | $15,000 | Off-road vehicle or heavy equipment fire | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Platteville sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 4,196 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 | 33.6 mi | |
| 2009 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 617 | 41.5 mi | |
| 2006 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 200 | 32.5 mi | |
| 2015 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 189 | 33.9 mi | |
| 2018 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 165 | 27.8 mi | |
| 2018 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 130 | 24.2 mi | |
| 2018 | Debris and open burning | 125 | 22.9 mi | |
| 2009 | Power generation/transmission/distribution | 100 | 16.2 mi | |
| 2009 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 100 | 47.6 mi | |
| 2004 | Recreation and ceremony | 100 | 41.2 mi | |
| 2018 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 100 | 36.6 mi | |
| 2004 | Debris and open burning | 88 | 49.1 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 Platteville. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
1 departments report to NFIRS for incidents in Platteville.
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.