In 2025, fire departments serving Somerset responded to 80 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $150K building blaze. Here's the full picture.
Building fires lead by count. Building fires lead by dollars. Together the top five categories make up about 66% of all calls.
Jul peaks. Feb dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
276 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2025. $2.6M cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 37 | — | |
| 2022 | 53 | +43.2% | |
| 2023 | 43 | -18.9% | |
| 2024 | 63 | +46.5% | |
| 2025 | 80 | +27.0% |
For the 19 building fires Somerset departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 68 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 | 13 | 19.1% | |
| 2 | Undetermined | 11 | 16.2% | |
| 3 | Other | 5 | 7.4% | |
| 4 | Vehicle storage area; garage, carport | 5 | 7.4% | |
| 5 | Outside area, other | 5 | 7.4% | |
| 6 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 5 | 7.4% | |
| 7 | Common room, den, family room, living room, lounge | 4 | 5.9% | |
| 8 | Vehicle area, other | 4 | 5.9% | |
| 9 | Storage area, other | 3 | 4.4% | |
| 10 | Wall surface: exterior | 2 | 2.9% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 11 | 16.2% |
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 Somerset mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 25 | 36.8% | |
| 2 | Hot ember or ash | 7 | 10.3% | |
| 3 | Heat source: other | 6 | 8.8% | |
| 4 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 6 | 8.8% | |
| 5 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 5 | 7.4% | |
| 6 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 4 | 5.9% | |
| 7 | Chemical reaction | 3 | 4.4% | |
| 8 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 2 | 2.9% | |
| 9 | Heat from direct flame, convection currents | 2 | 2.9% | |
| 10 | Arcing | 1 | 1.5% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 7 | 10.3% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Somerset departments in 2025. These 8 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $150,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 2 | $100,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $75,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 4 | $60,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 5 | $25,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 6 | $5,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 7 | $2,500 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 8 | $1,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Somerset sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 16,669 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 | 25.8 mi | |
| 2009 | Arson/incendiarism | 2,550 | 24.2 mi | |
| 2004 | Recreation and ceremony | 1,000 | 34.0 mi | |
| 2000 | Smoking | 420 | 30.0 mi | |
| 2009 | Fireworks | 390 | 48.1 mi | |
| 2010 | Equipment and vehicle use | 336 | 31.6 mi | |
| 1999 | Railroad operations and maintenance | 306 | 31.7 mi | |
| 2005 | Debris and open burning | 260 | 7.1 mi | |
| 2004 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 250 | 26.1 mi | |
| 2007 | Recreation and ceremony | 248 | 24.6 mi | |
| 1999 | Arson/incendiarism | 217 | 25.9 mi | |
| 1995 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 200 | 36.6 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 | 54025 | 276 |
Six Wisconsin cities with population within ±25% of Somerset. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
1 departments report to NFIRS for incidents in Somerset.
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.