In 2025, fire departments serving Poynette responded to 33 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $200K building blaze. Here's the full picture.
Power line down lead by count. Building fires lead by dollars. Together the top five categories make up about 73% of all calls.
Jun peaks. Nov dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
207 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2021. $1.3M cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 58 | — | |
| 2022 | 40 | -31.0% | |
| 2023* | 23 | — | |
| 2024 | 53 | — | |
| 2025 | 33 | -37.7% |
* Well below Poynette's usual volume. That almost always means one or more departments didn't submit a full year to NFIRS, not that fires dropped, so no year-over-year change is shown for it.
For the 2 building fires Poynette departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 67 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 | 21 | 31.3% | |
| 2 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 8 | 11.9% | |
| 3 | Undetermined | 7 | 10.4% | |
| 4 | Cooking area, kitchen | 5 | 7.5% | |
| 5 | Outside area, other | 4 | 6.0% | |
| 6 | Common room, den, family room, living room, lounge | 3 | 4.5% | |
| 7 | Operator/passenger area of transportation equip. | 2 | 3.0% | |
| 8 | Cargo/trunk area - all vehicles | 2 | 3.0% | |
| 9 | Separate operator/control area of transportation | 2 | 3.0% | |
| 10 | Courtyard, patio, porch, terrace | 2 | 3.0% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 11 | 16.4% |
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 Poynette mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 16 | 23.9% | |
| 2 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 11 | 16.4% | |
| 3 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 10 | 14.9% | |
| 4 | Arcing | 8 | 11.9% | |
| 5 | Heat, spark from friction | 6 | 9.0% | |
| 6 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 4 | 6.0% | |
| 7 | Hot ember or ash | 3 | 4.5% | |
| 8 | Heat source: other | 2 | 3.0% | |
| 9 | Heat from other open flame or smoking materials | 2 | 3.0% | |
| 10 | Flame/torch used for lighting | 2 | 3.0% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 3 | 4.5% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Poynette departments in 2025. These 7 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $200,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 2 | $50,000 | Road freight or transport vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $10,000 | Dumpster or other outside trash receptacle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 4 | $3,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 5 | $2,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 6 | $2,000 | Road freight or transport vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 7 | $500 | Water vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Poynette sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 15,596 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 | 50.0 mi | |
| 1999 | Arson/incendiarism | 1,400 | 46.4 mi | |
| 2000 | Equipment and vehicle use | 1,100 | 44.6 mi | |
| 2003 | Arson/incendiarism | 1,100 | 30.1 mi | |
| 1994 | Arson/incendiarism | 1,015 | 38.0 mi | |
| 2014 | Debris and open burning | 829 | 39.2 mi | |
| 1998 | Equipment and vehicle use | 630 | 39.4 mi | |
| 2006 | Debris and open burning | 612 | 33.8 mi | |
| 1999 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 580 | 45.2 mi | |
| 2003 | Debris and open burning | 572 | 40.0 mi | |
| 2003 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 500 | 17.5 mi | |
| 2003 | Arson/incendiarism | 484 | 15.1 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 Poynette. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
1 departments report to NFIRS for incidents in Poynette.
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.