In 2025, fire departments serving Rio responded to 39 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $3K 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 74% of all calls.
Jun peaks. Apr dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
174 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2024. $212K cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 25 | — | |
| 2022 | 38 | +52.0% | |
| 2023 | 25 | -34.2% | |
| 2024 | 47 | +88.0% | |
| 2025 | 39 | -17.0% |
For the 3 building fires Rio departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 25 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 | 6 | 24.0% | |
| 2 | Outside area, other | 4 | 16.0% | |
| 3 | Other | 2 | 8.0% | |
| 4 | Structural area, other | 2 | 8.0% | |
| 5 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 2 | 8.0% | |
| 6 | Function area, other | 1 | 4.0% | |
| 7 | Cooking area, kitchen | 1 | 4.0% | |
| 8 | Storage area, other | 1 | 4.0% | |
| 9 | Attic: vacant, crawl space above top story, cupola | 1 | 4.0% | |
| 10 | Wall assembly | 1 | 4.0% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 4 | 16.0% |
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 Rio mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Heat source: other | 4 | 16.0% | |
| 2 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 4 | 16.0% | |
| 3 | Arcing | 4 | 16.0% | |
| 4 | Heat from other open flame or smoking materials | 3 | 12.0% | |
| 5 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 2 | 8.0% | |
| 6 | Heat, spark from friction | 2 | 8.0% | |
| 7 | Hot ember or ash | 2 | 8.0% | |
| 8 | Undetermined | 2 | 8.0% | |
| 9 | Cigarette | 1 | 4.0% | |
| 10 | Cigarette lighter | 1 | 4.0% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Rio departments in 2025. These 5 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $3,000 | Fire in motor home, camper, recreational vehicle | Significant | Investigated |
| 2 | $2,000 | Outside rubbish, trash or waste fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $750 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 4 | $500 | Outside equipment fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 5 | $500 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Rio sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 11,556 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | Equipment and vehicle use | 1,100 | 48.4 mi | |
| 2003 | Arson/incendiarism | 1,100 | 24.4 mi | |
| 1994 | Arson/incendiarism | 1,015 | 28.7 mi | |
| 2014 | Debris and open burning | 829 | 30.1 mi | |
| 1998 | Equipment and vehicle use | 630 | 30.3 mi | |
| 2006 | Debris and open burning | 612 | 24.5 mi | |
| 1999 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 580 | 48.9 mi | |
| 2003 | Debris and open burning | 572 | 36.2 mi | |
| 2003 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 508 | 43.6 mi | |
| 2003 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 500 | 21.7 mi | |
| 2003 | Arson/incendiarism | 484 | 6.9 mi | |
| 2014 | Debris and open burning | 364 | 27.9 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 Rio. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
1 departments report to NFIRS for incidents in Rio.
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.