In 2025, fire departments serving Shorewood responded to 66 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $125K 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 64% of all calls.
Sep peaks. Feb dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
303 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2023. $3.0M cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 44 | — | |
| 2022 | 47 | +6.8% | |
| 2023 | 92 | +95.7% | |
| 2024 | 54 | -41.3% | |
| 2025 | 66 | +22.2% |
For the 5 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 64 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 | Cooking area, kitchen | 14 | 21.9% | |
| 2 | Undetermined | 7 | 10.9% | |
| 3 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 5 | 7.8% | |
| 4 | Highway, parking lot, street: on or near | 5 | 7.8% | |
| 5 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 5 | 7.8% | |
| 6 | Chute/container - trash, rubbish, waste | 4 | 6.2% | |
| 7 | Common room, den, family room, living room, lounge | 2 | 3.1% | |
| 8 | Bathroom, checkroom, lavatory, locker room | 2 | 3.1% | |
| 9 | Vehicle storage area; garage, carport | 2 | 3.1% | |
| 10 | Duct: hvac, cable, exhaust, heating, or AC | 2 | 3.1% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 16 | 25.0% |
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 | 24 | 37.5% | |
| 2 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 8 | 12.5% | |
| 3 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 8 | 12.5% | |
| 4 | Hot ember or ash | 5 | 7.8% | |
| 5 | Heat from direct flame, convection currents | 4 | 6.2% | |
| 6 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 3 | 4.7% | |
| 7 | Arcing | 2 | 3.1% | |
| 8 | Cigarette lighter | 2 | 3.1% | |
| 9 | Chemical reaction | 2 | 3.1% | |
| 10 | Heat, spark from friction | 1 | 1.6% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 5 | 7.8% |
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 | $125,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 2 | $80,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $20,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 4 | $10,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 5 | $10,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 6 | $1,500 | Cooking fire, confined to container | Significant | Investigated |
| 7 | $1,000 | Dumpster or other outside trash receptacle fire | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Shorewood sits below the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 3,985 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2015 | Misuse of fire by a minor | 750 | 48.0 mi | |
| 2003 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 450 | 47.9 mi | |
| 2002 | Natural | 360 | 45.2 mi | |
| 2002 | Arson/incendiarism | 325 | 49.1 mi | |
| 2005 | Debris and open burning | 280 | 47.7 mi | |
| 2018 | Debris and open burning | 252 | 44.4 mi | |
| 2003 | Debris and open burning | 250 | 46.7 mi | |
| 2010 | Natural | 200 | 19.1 mi | |
| 2010 | Natural | 180 | 19.5 mi | |
| 1997 | Debris and open burning | 130 | 49.3 mi | |
| 2020 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 100 | 28.0 mi | |
| 2010 | Equipment and vehicle use | 80 | 34.6 mi |
Top 8 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 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.