In 2025, fire departments serving Seymour responded to 82 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 55% of all calls.
May peaks. Apr dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
509 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2022. $3.1M cumulative property loss. 1 civilian deaths.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 77 | — | |
| 2022 | 136 | +76.6% | |
| 2023 | 113 | -16.9% | |
| 2024 | 101 | -10.6% | |
| 2025 | 82 | -18.8% |
For the 14 building fires Seymour departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 59 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 | 13 | 22.0% | |
| 2 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 9 | 15.3% | |
| 3 | Cooking area, kitchen | 5 | 8.5% | |
| 4 | Storage area, other | 3 | 5.1% | |
| 5 | Laundry area, wash house (laundry) | 2 | 3.4% | |
| 6 | Vehicle storage area; garage, carport | 2 | 3.4% | |
| 7 | Ceiling & floor assembly, crawl space b/t stories | 2 | 3.4% | |
| 8 | Wall assembly | 2 | 3.4% | |
| 9 | Wall surface: exterior | 2 | 3.4% | |
| 10 | Vehicle area, other | 2 | 3.4% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 17 | 28.8% |
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 Seymour mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 29 | 49.2% | |
| 2 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 5 | 8.5% | |
| 3 | Arcing | 5 | 8.5% | |
| 4 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 3 | 5.1% | |
| 5 | Heat, spark from friction | 3 | 5.1% | |
| 6 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 2 | 3.4% | |
| 7 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 2 | 3.4% | |
| 8 | Hot ember or ash | 2 | 3.4% | |
| 9 | Heat from other open flame or smoking materials | 2 | 3.4% | |
| 10 | Molten, hot material | 1 | 1.7% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 5 | 8.5% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Seymour departments in 2025. These 8 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $500,000 | Building fires | Major | Investigated |
| 2 | $20,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $10,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 4 | $10,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 5 | $8,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 6 | $2,000 | Power line down | Significant | Investigated |
| 7 | $500 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 8 | $159 | Overheated motor | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Seymour sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 4,308 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2003 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 400 | 35.7 mi | |
| 2019 | Arson/incendiarism | 385 | 31.2 mi | |
| 2015 | Railroad operations and maintenance | 366 | 24.2 mi | |
| 1999 | Debris and open burning | 320 | 41.3 mi | |
| 2020 | Arson/incendiarism | 320 | 31.2 mi | |
| 2014 | Debris and open burning | 275 | 32.0 mi | |
| 2007 | Arson/incendiarism | 275 | 47.2 mi | |
| 2020 | Equipment and vehicle use | 262 | 38.9 mi | |
| 2004 | Debris and open burning | 215 | 33.5 mi | |
| 2002 | Debris and open burning | 160 | 48.5 mi | |
| 2009 | Debris and open burning | 140 | 44.3 mi | |
| 2015 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 133 | 30.5 mi |
Top 7 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 Seymour. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
3 departments report to NFIRS for incidents in Seymour.
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.