In 2025, fire departments serving Plymouth responded to 110 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $700K 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 72% of all calls.
May peaks. Sep dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
405 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2025. $1.6M cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 88 | — | |
| 2022 | 69 | -21.6% | |
| 2023 | 72 | +4.3% | |
| 2024 | 66 | -8.3% | |
| 2025 | 110 | +66.7% |
For the 56 building fires Plymouth departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 93 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 | Outside area, other | 20 | 21.5% | |
| 2 | Undetermined | 10 | 10.8% | |
| 3 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 8 | 8.6% | |
| 4 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 8 | 8.6% | |
| 5 | Cooking area, kitchen | 7 | 7.5% | |
| 6 | Chute/container - trash, rubbish, waste | 6 | 6.5% | |
| 7 | Bedroom - < 5 persons; included are jail or prison | 4 | 4.3% | |
| 8 | Duct: hvac, cable, exhaust, heating, or AC | 3 | 3.2% | |
| 9 | Entrance way, lobby | 2 | 2.2% | |
| 10 | Dining room, cafeteria bar area, beverage service | 2 | 2.2% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 23 | 24.7% |
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 Plymouth mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 38 | 40.9% | |
| 2 | Hot ember or ash | 13 | 14.0% | |
| 3 | Arcing | 5 | 5.4% | |
| 4 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 4 | 4.3% | |
| 5 | Cigarette lighter | 4 | 4.3% | |
| 6 | Chemical reaction | 4 | 4.3% | |
| 7 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 3 | 3.2% | |
| 8 | Heat, spark from friction | 3 | 3.2% | |
| 9 | Heat from direct flame, convection currents | 3 | 3.2% | |
| 10 | Heat from other open flame or smoking materials | 2 | 2.2% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 14 | 15.1% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Plymouth departments in 2025. These 8 fires alone account for 99% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $700,000 | Building fires | Major | Investigated |
| 2 | $150,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $100,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 4 | $20,000 | Off-road vehicle or heavy equipment fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 5 | $15,600 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 6 | $15,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 7 | $10,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 8 | $10,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Plymouth sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 7,492 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1994 | Arson/incendiarism | 1,015 | 38.1 mi | |
| 2014 | Debris and open burning | 829 | 39.7 mi | |
| 1998 | Equipment and vehicle use | 630 | 39.5 mi | |
| 2006 | Debris and open burning | 612 | 42.5 mi | |
| 2003 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 508 | 26.3 mi | |
| 2003 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 400 | 39.7 mi | |
| 2015 | Railroad operations and maintenance | 366 | 47.4 mi | |
| 2014 | Debris and open burning | 364 | 39.3 mi | |
| 2002 | Natural | 360 | 37.7 mi | |
| 2002 | Arson/incendiarism | 325 | 34.3 mi | |
| 2005 | Debris and open burning | 280 | 37.6 mi | |
| 2014 | Debris and open burning | 275 | 48.9 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 Plymouth. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
3 departments report to NFIRS for incidents in Plymouth.
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.