In 2025, fire departments serving Shorewood Hills responded to 12 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $70K 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 75% of all calls.
Jul peaks. Feb dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
47 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2025. $127K cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 7 | — | |
| 2022 | 9 | +28.6% | |
| 2023 | 10 | +11.1% | |
| 2024 | 9 | -10.0% | |
| 2025 | 12 | +33.3% |
For the 1 building fires Shorewood Hills departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 9 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 | 3 | 33.3% | |
| 2 | Cooking area, kitchen | 1 | 11.1% | |
| 3 | Wall assembly | 1 | 11.1% | |
| 4 | Wall surface: exterior | 1 | 11.1% | |
| 5 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 1 | 11.1% | |
| 6 | Exterior, exposed surface | 1 | 11.1% | |
| 7 | Courtyard, patio, porch, terrace | 1 | 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 Shorewood Hills mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 5 | 55.6% | |
| 2 | Arcing | 1 | 11.1% | |
| 3 | Hot ember or ash | 1 | 11.1% | |
| 4 | Heat from direct flame, convection currents | 1 | 11.1% | |
| 5 | Conducted heat from another fire | 1 | 11.1% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Shorewood Hills departments in 2025. These 1 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $70,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Shorewood Hills sits below the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 10,084 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1999 | Arson/incendiarism | 1,400 | 43.2 mi | |
| 2000 | Equipment and vehicle use | 1,100 | 23.8 mi | |
| 2003 | Arson/incendiarism | 1,100 | 32.7 mi | |
| 2009 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 617 | 30.1 mi | |
| 2006 | Debris and open burning | 612 | 48.2 mi | |
| 1999 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 580 | 24.4 mi | |
| 2016 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 500 | 40.3 mi | |
| 2003 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 500 | 7.0 mi | |
| 2003 | Arson/incendiarism | 484 | 34.6 mi | |
| 2014 | Debris and open burning | 364 | 48.9 mi | |
| 2002 | Natural | 360 | 49.7 mi | |
| 2003 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 300 | 34.6 mi |
Top 1 ZIP codes by NFIRS incident count across 2021–2025. Each ZIP has its own fire profile — dive in for neighborhood-level context.
| # | ZIP | 5-yr incidents | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 53705 | 47 |
Six Wisconsin cities with population within ±25% of Shorewood Hills. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
1 departments report to NFIRS for incidents in Shorewood Hills.
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.