In 2025, fire departments serving Shiocton responded to 28 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $30K 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 57% of all calls.
Dec peaks. Nov dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
160 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2023. $2.4M cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 20 | — | |
| 2022 | 41 | +105.0% | |
| 2023 | 53 | +29.3% | |
| 2024* | 18 | — | |
| 2025 | 28 | — |
* Well below Shiocton's usual volume. That almost always means one or more departments didn't submit a full year to NFIRS, not that fires dropped, so no year-over-year change is shown for it.
For the 4 building fires Shiocton departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 18 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 | 22.2% | |
| 2 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 4 | 22.2% | |
| 3 | Other | 1 | 5.6% | |
| 4 | Common room, den, family room, living room, lounge | 1 | 5.6% | |
| 5 | Cooking area, kitchen | 1 | 5.6% | |
| 6 | Storage area, other | 1 | 5.6% | |
| 7 | Vehicle storage area; garage, carport | 1 | 5.6% | |
| 8 | Structural area, other | 1 | 5.6% | |
| 9 | Vehicle area, other | 1 | 5.6% | |
| 10 | Fuel tank, fuel line | 1 | 5.6% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 2 | 11.1% |
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 Shiocton mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 4 | 22.2% | |
| 2 | Undetermined | 4 | 22.2% | |
| 3 | Heat source: other | 3 | 16.7% | |
| 4 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 1 | 5.6% | |
| 5 | Arcing | 1 | 5.6% | |
| 6 | Hot ember or ash | 1 | 5.6% | |
| 7 | Munitions | 1 | 5.6% | |
| 8 | Flame/torch used for lighting | 1 | 5.6% | |
| 9 | Lightning | 1 | 5.6% | |
| 10 | Heat spread from another fire, other | 1 | 5.6% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Shiocton departments in 2025. These 4 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $30,000 | Mobile property (vehicle) fire, other | Significant | Investigated |
| 2 | $2,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $2,000 | Fires in structures other than in a building | Significant | Investigated |
| 4 | $500 | Off-road vehicle or heavy equipment fire | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Shiocton sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 4,653 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 | 508 | 46.6 mi | |
| 2003 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 400 | 27.6 mi | |
| 2019 | Arson/incendiarism | 385 | 20.0 mi | |
| 2015 | Railroad operations and maintenance | 366 | 14.5 mi | |
| 1999 | Debris and open burning | 320 | 28.1 mi | |
| 2020 | Arson/incendiarism | 320 | 20.1 mi | |
| 2014 | Debris and open burning | 275 | 21.1 mi | |
| 2020 | Equipment and vehicle use | 262 | 27.6 mi | |
| 2004 | Debris and open burning | 215 | 45.6 mi | |
| 2003 | Arson/incendiarism | 170 | 46.1 mi | |
| 2002 | Debris and open burning | 160 | 36.9 mi | |
| 2009 | Debris and open burning | 140 | 35.7 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 Shiocton. 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.