In 2025, fire departments serving Pulaski responded to 61 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $300K 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 66% of all calls.
Mar peaks. Dec dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
323 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2023. $653K cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 66 | — | |
| 2022 | 53 | -19.7% | |
| 2023 | 84 | +58.5% | |
| 2024 | 59 | -29.8% | |
| 2025 | 61 | +3.4% |
For the 15 building fires Pulaski departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 74 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 | Undetermined | 17 | 23.0% | |
| 2 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 14 | 18.9% | |
| 3 | Wall surface: exterior | 8 | 10.8% | |
| 4 | Cargo/trunk area - all vehicles | 6 | 8.1% | |
| 5 | Storage area, other | 4 | 5.4% | |
| 6 | Cooking area, kitchen | 3 | 4.1% | |
| 7 | Processing/manufacturing area, workroom | 2 | 2.7% | |
| 8 | Storage: supplies or tools; dead storage | 2 | 2.7% | |
| 9 | Conduit, pipe, utility, or ventilation shaft | 2 | 2.7% | |
| 10 | Roof surface: exterior | 2 | 2.7% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 14 | 18.9% |
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 Pulaski mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 23 | 31.1% | |
| 2 | Undetermined | 18 | 24.3% | |
| 3 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 6 | 8.1% | |
| 4 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 4 | 5.4% | |
| 5 | Arcing | 4 | 5.4% | |
| 6 | Heat from other open flame or smoking materials | 3 | 4.1% | |
| 7 | Heat spread from another fire, other | 3 | 4.1% | |
| 8 | Hot ember or ash | 2 | 2.7% | |
| 9 | Fireworks | 2 | 2.7% | |
| 10 | Cigarette | 2 | 2.7% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 7 | 9.5% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Pulaski departments in 2025. These 1 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $300,000 | Fires in structures other than in a building | Major | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Pulaski sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 3,646 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2003 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 400 | 47.3 mi | |
| 2019 | Arson/incendiarism | 385 | 42.2 mi | |
| 2015 | Railroad operations and maintenance | 366 | 35.5 mi | |
| 2020 | Arson/incendiarism | 320 | 42.2 mi | |
| 2014 | Debris and open burning | 275 | 43.1 mi | |
| 2007 | Arson/incendiarism | 275 | 36.8 mi | |
| 2020 | Equipment and vehicle use | 262 | 49.9 mi | |
| 2004 | Debris and open burning | 215 | 22.8 mi | |
| 2015 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 133 | 22.9 mi | |
| 2014 | Natural | 110 | 42.1 mi | |
| 2015 | Arson/incendiarism | 103 | 39.6 mi | |
| 1999 | Smoking | 100 | 19.6 mi |
Top 6 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 Pulaski. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
1 departments report to NFIRS for incidents in Pulaski.
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.