In 2025, fire departments serving Rhinelander responded to 143 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $40K 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 62% of all calls.
Mar peaks. Apr dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
580 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2025. $1.1M cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 96 | — | |
| 2022 | 141 | +46.9% | |
| 2023 | 110 | -22.0% | |
| 2024 | 90 | -18.2% | |
| 2025 | 143 | +58.9% |
For the 22 building fires Rhinelander departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 118 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 | Cooking area, kitchen | 17 | 14.4% | |
| 2 | Outside area, other | 12 | 10.2% | |
| 3 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 10 | 8.5% | |
| 4 | Undetermined | 10 | 8.5% | |
| 5 | Wildland, woods | 9 | 7.6% | |
| 6 | Vehicle storage area; garage, carport | 8 | 6.8% | |
| 7 | Vehicle area, other | 5 | 4.2% | |
| 8 | Other | 4 | 3.4% | |
| 9 | Bedroom - < 5 persons; included are jail or prison | 4 | 3.4% | |
| 10 | Common room, den, family room, living room, lounge | 3 | 2.5% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 36 | 30.5% |
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 Rhinelander mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 44 | 37.3% | |
| 2 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 17 | 14.4% | |
| 3 | Heat source: other | 11 | 9.3% | |
| 4 | Arcing | 10 | 8.5% | |
| 5 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 6 | 5.1% | |
| 6 | Hot ember or ash | 5 | 4.2% | |
| 7 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 3 | 2.5% | |
| 8 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 3 | 2.5% | |
| 9 | Heat from other open flame or smoking materials | 3 | 2.5% | |
| 10 | Cigarette lighter | 3 | 2.5% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 13 | 11.0% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Rhinelander departments in 2025. These 4 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $40,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 2 | $8,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $350 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 4 | $1 | Forest, woods or wildland fire | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Rhinelander sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 1,521 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | Debris and open burning | 98 | 11.7 mi | |
| 2007 | Arson/incendiarism | 94 | 38.6 mi | |
| 2001 | Equipment and vehicle use | 88 | 38.4 mi | |
| 2007 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 82 | 34.5 mi | |
| 2006 | Natural | 80 | 36.0 mi | |
| 2000 | Natural | 79 | 43.0 mi | |
| 1992 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 77 | 11.0 mi | |
| 2012 | Power generation/transmission/distribution | 72 | 36.7 mi | |
| 1992 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 68 | 11.5 mi | |
| 1992 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 68 | 26.2 mi | |
| 2007 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 67 | 44.1 mi | |
| 1999 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 64 | 48.9 mi |
Top 1 ZIP codes by NFIRS incident count across 2021–2025. Each ZIP has its own fire profile — dive in for neighborhood-level context.
| # | ZIP | 5-yr incidents | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 54501 | 580 |
Six Wisconsin cities with population within ±25% of Rhinelander. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
5 departments report to NFIRS for incidents in Rhinelander.
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.