In 2025, fire departments serving Sparta responded to 84 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $250K 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 50% of all calls.
Jul peaks. Aug dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
481 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2023. $6.2M cumulative property loss. 4 civilian deaths.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 87 | — | |
| 2022 | 93 | +6.9% | |
| 2023 | 111 | +19.4% | |
| 2024 | 106 | -4.5% | |
| 2025 | 84 | -20.8% |
For the 10 building fires Sparta departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 136 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 | 42 | 30.9% | |
| 2 | Undetermined | 31 | 22.8% | |
| 3 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 11 | 8.1% | |
| 4 | Cooking area, kitchen | 7 | 5.1% | |
| 5 | Vehicle storage area; garage, carport | 6 | 4.4% | |
| 6 | Entrance way, lobby | 4 | 2.9% | |
| 7 | Wall surface: exterior | 4 | 2.9% | |
| 8 | Outside area, other | 4 | 2.9% | |
| 9 | Incinerator area | 3 | 2.2% | |
| 10 | Wall assembly | 3 | 2.2% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 21 | 15.4% |
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 Sparta mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 34 | 25.0% | |
| 2 | Arcing | 28 | 20.6% | |
| 3 | Hot ember or ash | 13 | 9.6% | |
| 4 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 12 | 8.8% | |
| 5 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 12 | 8.8% | |
| 6 | Heat source: other | 8 | 5.9% | |
| 7 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 8 | 5.9% | |
| 8 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 7 | 5.1% | |
| 9 | Cigarette | 3 | 2.2% | |
| 10 | Heat spread from another fire, other | 3 | 2.2% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 8 | 5.9% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Sparta departments in 2025. These 8 fires alone account for 97% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $250,000 | Building fires | Major | Investigated |
| 2 | $250,000 | Building fires | Major | Investigated |
| 3 | $250,000 | Building fires | Major | Investigated |
| 4 | $200,000 | Off-road vehicle or heavy equipment fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 5 | $150,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 6 | $85,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 7 | $65,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 8 | $15,000 | Off-road vehicle or heavy equipment fire | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Sparta sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 4,562 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | Arson/incendiarism | 1,200 | 33.1 mi | |
| 2003 | Debris and open burning | 384 | 31.8 mi | |
| 2000 | Debris and open burning | 360 | 23.3 mi | |
| 2015 | Railroad operations and maintenance | 337 | 35.0 mi | |
| 2020 | Recreation and ceremony | 234 | 35.7 mi | |
| 2012 | Equipment and vehicle use | 195 | 27.3 mi | |
| 2012 | Equipment and vehicle use | 166 | 37.6 mi | |
| 1992 | Equipment and vehicle use | 161 | 34.5 mi | |
| 2007 | Recreation and ceremony | 159 | 20.3 mi | |
| 2000 | Railroad operations and maintenance | 140 | 49.8 mi | |
| 1999 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 124 | 37.7 mi | |
| 2005 | Debris and open burning | 112 | 32.9 mi |
Top 2 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 Sparta. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
3 departments report to NFIRS for incidents in Sparta.
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.