In 2025, fire departments serving Plover responded to 58 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $100K 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 67% of all calls.
Sep peaks. Dec dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
308 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2021. $1.2M cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 75 | — | |
| 2022 | 38 | -49.3% | |
| 2023 | 62 | +63.2% | |
| 2024 | 75 | +21.0% | |
| 2025 | 58 | -22.7% |
For the 13 building fires Plover departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 52 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 | 11 | 21.2% | |
| 2 | Cooking area, kitchen | 10 | 19.2% | |
| 3 | Undetermined | 9 | 17.3% | |
| 4 | Other | 4 | 7.7% | |
| 5 | Outside area, other | 3 | 5.8% | |
| 6 | Wall surface: exterior | 2 | 3.8% | |
| 7 | Dining room, cafeteria bar area, beverage service | 1 | 1.9% | |
| 8 | Laundry area, wash house (laundry) | 1 | 1.9% | |
| 9 | Technical processing areas, other | 1 | 1.9% | |
| 10 | Storage: supplies or tools; dead storage | 1 | 1.9% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 9 | 17.3% |
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 Plover mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 23 | 44.2% | |
| 2 | Heat source: other | 9 | 17.3% | |
| 3 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 4 | 7.7% | |
| 4 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 4 | 7.7% | |
| 5 | Arcing | 4 | 7.7% | |
| 6 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 2 | 3.8% | |
| 7 | Fireworks | 1 | 1.9% | |
| 8 | Cigarette lighter | 1 | 1.9% | |
| 9 | Flame/torch used for lighting | 1 | 1.9% | |
| 10 | Lightning | 1 | 1.9% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 2 | 3.8% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Plover departments in 2025. These 7 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $100,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 2 | $100,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $65,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 4 | $50,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 5 | $30,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 6 | $2,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 7 | $1,000 | Outside equipment fire | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Plover sits below the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 8,985 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2005 | Debris and open burning | 3,410 | 29.4 mi | |
| 2003 | Debris and open burning | 572 | 35.5 mi | |
| 2019 | Arson/incendiarism | 385 | 42.8 mi | |
| 2003 | Debris and open burning | 384 | 42.3 mi | |
| 2015 | Railroad operations and maintenance | 366 | 47.6 mi | |
| 2015 | Railroad operations and maintenance | 337 | 41.7 mi | |
| 1999 | Debris and open burning | 320 | 26.2 mi | |
| 2020 | Arson/incendiarism | 320 | 42.8 mi | |
| 1997 | Debris and open burning | 300 | 8.1 mi | |
| 2014 | Debris and open burning | 275 | 43.7 mi | |
| 2020 | Equipment and vehicle use | 262 | 41.4 mi | |
| 2020 | Recreation and ceremony | 234 | 39.5 mi |
Top 3 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 Plover. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
1 departments report to NFIRS for incidents in Plover.
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.