In 2025, fire departments serving River Hills responded to 14 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $500K 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 71% of all calls.
Jul peaks. Jan dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
81 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2021. $1.7M cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 23 | — | |
| 2022 | 17 | -26.1% | |
| 2023 | 16 | -5.9% | |
| 2024 | 11 | -31.2% | |
| 2025 | 14 | +27.3% |
For the 3 building fires River Hills departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 20 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 | 4 | 20.0% | |
| 2 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 3 | 15.0% | |
| 3 | Cooking area, kitchen | 2 | 10.0% | |
| 4 | Vehicle storage area; garage, carport | 2 | 10.0% | |
| 5 | Outside area, other | 2 | 10.0% | |
| 6 | Undetermined | 2 | 10.0% | |
| 7 | Office | 1 | 5.0% | |
| 8 | Machinery room or area; elevator machinery room | 1 | 5.0% | |
| 9 | Roof surface: exterior | 1 | 5.0% | |
| 10 | Vehicle area, other | 1 | 5.0% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 1 | 5.0% |
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 River Hills mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 9 | 45.0% | |
| 2 | Arcing | 3 | 15.0% | |
| 3 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 2 | 10.0% | |
| 4 | Flame/torch used for lighting | 2 | 10.0% | |
| 5 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 1 | 5.0% | |
| 6 | Heat, spark from friction | 1 | 5.0% | |
| 7 | Hot ember or ash | 1 | 5.0% | |
| 8 | Explosive, fireworks, other | 1 | 5.0% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by River Hills departments in 2025. These 3 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $500,000 | Building fires | Major | Investigated |
| 2 | $500,000 | Road freight or transport vehicle fire | Major | Investigated |
| 3 | $400,000 | Road freight or transport vehicle fire | Major | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. River Hills sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 5,575 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2003 | Arson/incendiarism | 1,100 | 45.9 mi | |
| 1994 | Arson/incendiarism | 1,015 | 47.1 mi | |
| 2014 | Debris and open burning | 364 | 45.1 mi | |
| 2002 | Natural | 360 | 40.1 mi | |
| 2002 | Arson/incendiarism | 325 | 43.6 mi | |
| 2005 | Debris and open burning | 280 | 42.5 mi | |
| 2018 | Debris and open burning | 252 | 43.0 mi | |
| 2003 | Debris and open burning | 250 | 41.3 mi | |
| 2010 | Natural | 200 | 22.4 mi | |
| 2010 | Natural | 180 | 22.8 mi | |
| 2005 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 150 | 47.5 mi | |
| 2003 | Equipment and vehicle use | 138 | 47.4 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 River Hills. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
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.