In 2025, fire departments serving Racine responded to 31 fire and hazmat incidents . Here's the full picture.
Power line down lead by count. Building fires lead by dollars. Together the top five categories make up about 84% of all calls.
Jul peaks. May dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
208 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2022. $562K cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 46 | — | |
| 2022 | 49 | +6.5% | |
| 2023 | 39 | -20.4% | |
| 2024 | 43 | +10.3% | |
| 2025 | 31 | -27.9% |
For the 7 building fires Racine departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 75 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 | 58 | 77.3% | |
| 2 | Attic: vacant, crawl space above top story, cupola | 4 | 5.3% | |
| 3 | Substructure area or space, crawl space | 3 | 4.0% | |
| 4 | Other | 2 | 2.7% | |
| 5 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 2 | 2.7% | |
| 6 | Structural area, other | 1 | 1.3% | |
| 7 | Exterior, exposed surface | 1 | 1.3% | |
| 8 | Outside area, other | 1 | 1.3% | |
| 9 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 1 | 1.3% | |
| 10 | Wildland, woods | 1 | 1.3% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 1 | 1.3% |
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 Racine mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 63 | 84.0% | |
| 2 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 2 | 2.7% | |
| 3 | Arcing | 2 | 2.7% | |
| 4 | Molten, hot material | 2 | 2.7% | |
| 5 | Heat source: other | 1 | 1.3% | |
| 6 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 1 | 1.3% | |
| 7 | Incendiary device | 1 | 1.3% | |
| 8 | Cigarette lighter | 1 | 1.3% | |
| 9 | Candle | 1 | 1.3% | |
| 10 | Flame/torch used for lighting | 1 | 1.3% |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Racine sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 6,389 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2001 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 1,000 | 44.4 mi | |
| 1999 | Arson/incendiarism | 481 | 49.9 mi | |
| 1995 | Equipment and vehicle use | 429 | 49.3 mi | |
| 2009 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 310 | 35.0 mi | |
| 2005 | Equipment and vehicle use | 303 | 44.7 mi | |
| 2001 | Arson/incendiarism | 300 | 39.7 mi | |
| 2013 | Arson/incendiarism | 280 | 47.3 mi | |
| 2010 | Arson/incendiarism | 259 | 49.8 mi | |
| 2001 | Debris and open burning | 242 | 44.9 mi | |
| 1999 | Debris and open burning | 201 | 42.2 mi | |
| 2006 | Arson/incendiarism | 200 | 43.9 mi | |
| 2009 | Debris and open burning | 200 | 48.8 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 Ohio cities with population within ±25% of Racine. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
1 departments report to NFIRS for incidents in Racine.
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.