In 2025, fire departments serving Shorewood responded to 69 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $721K 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 68% of all calls.
Nov peaks. Dec dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
255 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2025. $1.8M cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 34 | — | |
| 2022 | 53 | +55.9% | |
| 2023 | 42 | -20.8% | |
| 2024 | 57 | +35.7% | |
| 2025 | 69 | +21.1% |
For the 6 building fires Shorewood departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 34 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 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 8 | 23.5% | |
| 2 | Outside area, other | 7 | 20.6% | |
| 3 | Undetermined | 4 | 11.8% | |
| 4 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 3 | 8.8% | |
| 5 | Other | 2 | 5.9% | |
| 6 | Vehicle storage area; garage, carport | 2 | 5.9% | |
| 7 | Vehicle area, other | 2 | 5.9% | |
| 8 | Common room, den, family room, living room, lounge | 1 | 2.9% | |
| 9 | Bedroom - < 5 persons; included are jail or prison | 1 | 2.9% | |
| 10 | Cooking area, kitchen | 1 | 2.9% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 3 | 8.8% |
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 Shorewood mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 11 | 32.4% | |
| 2 | Hot ember or ash | 6 | 17.6% | |
| 3 | Heat source: other | 4 | 11.8% | |
| 4 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 3 | 8.8% | |
| 5 | Arcing | 2 | 5.9% | |
| 6 | Heat spread from another fire, other | 2 | 5.9% | |
| 7 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 1 | 2.9% | |
| 8 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 1 | 2.9% | |
| 9 | Molten, hot material | 1 | 2.9% | |
| 10 | Match | 1 | 2.9% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 2 | 5.9% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Shorewood departments in 2025. These 7 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $720,600 | Building fires | Major | Investigated |
| 2 | $720,600 | Building fires | Major | Investigated |
| 3 | $10,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 4 | $5,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 5 | $2,000 | Natural vegetation fire, other | Significant | Investigated |
| 6 | $1,500 | Special outside fire, other | Significant | Investigated |
| 7 | $100 | Dumpster or other outside trash receptacle fire | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Shorewood sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 21,294 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | Debris and open burning | 8,513 | 36.1 mi | |
| 2006 | Arson/incendiarism | 2,909 | 47.0 mi | |
| 2009 | Arson/incendiarism | 2,550 | 35.2 mi | |
| 1996 | Debris and open burning | 1,299 | 38.8 mi | |
| 2004 | Recreation and ceremony | 1,000 | 18.7 mi | |
| 2000 | Smoking | 420 | 39.3 mi | |
| 2012 | Debris and open burning | 400 | 41.4 mi | |
| 2010 | Equipment and vehicle use | 336 | 30.9 mi | |
| 1995 | Debris and open burning | 320 | 42.0 mi | |
| 1999 | Railroad operations and maintenance | 306 | 28.9 mi | |
| 1996 | Arson/incendiarism | 290 | 42.4 mi | |
| 2010 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 280 | 46.2 mi |
Top 3 ZIP codes by NFIRS incident count across 2021–2025. Each ZIP has its own fire profile — dive in for neighborhood-level context.
Six Minnesota cities with population within ±25% of Shorewood. 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.