In 2025, fire departments serving Shawano responded to 51 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $90K building blaze. Here's the full picture.
Gas leak (natural gas or LPG) lead by count. Building fires lead by dollars. Together the top five categories make up about 71% of all calls.
May peaks. Sep dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
347 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2023. $4.3M cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 69 | — | |
| 2022 | 72 | +4.3% | |
| 2023 | 81 | +12.5% | |
| 2024 | 74 | -8.6% | |
| 2025 | 51 | -31.1% |
For the 4 building fires Shawano departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 95 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 | 25 | 26.3% | |
| 2 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 24 | 25.3% | |
| 3 | Bedroom - < 5 persons; included are jail or prison | 5 | 5.3% | |
| 4 | Operator/passenger area of transportation equip. | 5 | 5.3% | |
| 5 | Cooking area, kitchen | 4 | 4.2% | |
| 6 | Cargo/trunk area - all vehicles | 4 | 4.2% | |
| 7 | Laundry area, wash house (laundry) | 3 | 3.2% | |
| 8 | Vehicle storage area; garage, carport | 3 | 3.2% | |
| 9 | Ceiling & floor assembly, crawl space b/t stories | 3 | 3.2% | |
| 10 | Bathroom, checkroom, lavatory, locker room | 2 | 2.1% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 17 | 17.9% |
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 Shawano mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 76 | 80.0% | |
| 2 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 5 | 5.3% | |
| 3 | Cigarette | 4 | 4.2% | |
| 4 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 2 | 2.1% | |
| 5 | Cigarette lighter | 2 | 2.1% | |
| 6 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 1 | 1.1% | |
| 7 | Molten, hot material | 1 | 1.1% | |
| 8 | Hot ember or ash | 1 | 1.1% | |
| 9 | Heat from other open flame or smoking materials | 1 | 1.1% | |
| 10 | Flame/torch used for lighting | 1 | 1.1% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 1 | 1.1% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Shawano departments in 2025. These 7 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $90,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 2 | $80,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $45,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 4 | $20,000 | Power line down | Significant | Investigated |
| 5 | $15,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 6 | $9,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 7 | $2,500 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Shawano sits below the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 3,539 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2019 | Arson/incendiarism | 385 | 41.6 mi | |
| 2015 | Railroad operations and maintenance | 366 | 37.1 mi | |
| 1999 | Debris and open burning | 320 | 43.1 mi | |
| 2020 | Arson/incendiarism | 320 | 41.6 mi | |
| 2014 | Debris and open burning | 275 | 42.9 mi | |
| 2020 | Equipment and vehicle use | 262 | 48.4 mi | |
| 2004 | Debris and open burning | 215 | 35.5 mi | |
| 2015 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 133 | 11.6 mi | |
| 2014 | Natural | 110 | 34.2 mi | |
| 2015 | Arson/incendiarism | 103 | 36.4 mi | |
| 1999 | Smoking | 100 | 21.7 mi | |
| 2007 | Arson/incendiarism | 94 | 36.8 mi |
Top 5 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 Shawano. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
1 departments report to NFIRS for incidents in Shawano.
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.