In 2025, fire departments serving Richland Center responded to 65 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $100K building blaze. Here's the full picture.
Brush, or brush and grass mixture fire lead by count. Building fires lead by dollars. Together the top five categories make up about 71% of all calls.
Jan peaks. May dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
241 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2025. $1.9M cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 46 | — | |
| 2022 | 44 | -4.3% | |
| 2023 | 30 | -31.8% | |
| 2024 | 56 | +86.7% | |
| 2025 | 65 | +16.1% |
For the 5 building fires Richland Center departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 101 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 | 46 | 45.5% | |
| 2 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 12 | 11.9% | |
| 3 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 11 | 10.9% | |
| 4 | Wildland, woods | 4 | 4.0% | |
| 5 | Cooking area, kitchen | 3 | 3.0% | |
| 6 | Roof surface: exterior | 3 | 3.0% | |
| 7 | Highway, parking lot, street: on or near | 3 | 3.0% | |
| 8 | Function area, other | 2 | 2.0% | |
| 9 | Vehicle storage area; garage, carport | 2 | 2.0% | |
| 10 | Exterior, exposed surface | 2 | 2.0% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 13 | 12.9% |
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 Richland Center mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 47 | 46.5% | |
| 2 | Hot ember or ash | 11 | 10.9% | |
| 3 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 8 | 7.9% | |
| 4 | Flying brand, ember, spark | 6 | 5.9% | |
| 5 | Heat source: other | 4 | 4.0% | |
| 6 | Arcing | 4 | 4.0% | |
| 7 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 3 | 3.0% | |
| 8 | Flame/torch used for lighting | 3 | 3.0% | |
| 9 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 2 | 2.0% | |
| 10 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 2 | 2.0% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 11 | 10.9% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Richland Center departments in 2025. These 7 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $100,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 2 | $50,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $5,000 | Camper or recreational vehicle (RV) fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 4 | $3,000 | Mobile property (vehicle) fire, other | Significant | Investigated |
| 5 | $3,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 6 | $3,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 7 | $2,500 | Forest, woods or wildland fire | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Richland Center sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 4,050 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1999 | Arson/incendiarism | 1,400 | 11.0 mi | |
| 2015 | Railroad operations and maintenance | 337 | 49.1 mi | |
| 2015 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 189 | 29.7 mi | |
| 2012 | Equipment and vehicle use | 166 | 46.5 mi | |
| 1992 | Equipment and vehicle use | 161 | 43.2 mi | |
| 2000 | Railroad operations and maintenance | 140 | 35.6 mi | |
| 2018 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 130 | 30.9 mi | |
| 2018 | Debris and open burning | 125 | 34.9 mi | |
| 2009 | Debris and open burning | 106 | 47.2 mi | |
| 2003 | Debris and open burning | 104 | 15.1 mi | |
| 2009 | Power generation/transmission/distribution | 100 | 27.4 mi | |
| 2018 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 100 | 49.7 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 Wisconsin cities with population within ±25% of Richland Center. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
1 departments report to NFIRS for incidents in Richland Center.
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.