In 2025, fire departments serving Spooner responded to 70 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $100K 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 64% of all calls.
Dec peaks. Aug dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
290 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2025. $100K cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 51 | — | |
| 2022 | 49 | -3.9% | |
| 2023 | 61 | +24.5% | |
| 2024 | 59 | -3.3% | |
| 2025 | 70 | +18.6% |
For the 16 building fires Spooner departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 84 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 | 21 | 25.0% | |
| 2 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 16 | 19.0% | |
| 3 | Storage area, other | 10 | 11.9% | |
| 4 | Cooking area, kitchen | 5 | 6.0% | |
| 5 | Other | 3 | 3.6% | |
| 6 | Common room, den, family room, living room, lounge | 3 | 3.6% | |
| 7 | Vehicle storage area; garage, carport | 3 | 3.6% | |
| 8 | Operator/passenger area of transportation equip. | 3 | 3.6% | |
| 9 | Outside area, other | 3 | 3.6% | |
| 10 | Assembly or sales area, other | 2 | 2.4% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 15 | 17.9% |
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 Spooner mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 27 | 32.1% | |
| 2 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 25 | 29.8% | |
| 3 | Chemical, natural heat source, other | 6 | 7.1% | |
| 4 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 5 | 6.0% | |
| 5 | Hot ember or ash | 5 | 6.0% | |
| 6 | Arcing | 3 | 3.6% | |
| 7 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 3 | 3.6% | |
| 8 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 2 | 2.4% | |
| 9 | Other static discharge | 2 | 2.4% | |
| 10 | Heat source: other | 1 | 1.2% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 5 | 6.0% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Spooner departments in 2025. These 1 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $100,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Spooner sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 13,829 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2013 | Equipment and vehicle use | 7,499 | 33.1 mi | |
| 2000 | Debris and open burning | 1,350 | 29.9 mi | |
| 2007 | Power generation/transmission/distribution | 1,167 | 44.4 mi | |
| 2013 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 656 | 36.0 mi | |
| 2000 | Debris and open burning | 275 | 45.8 mi | |
| 1998 | Power generation/transmission/distribution | 240 | 24.7 mi | |
| 1995 | Arson/incendiarism | 216 | 39.7 mi | |
| 1993 | Debris and open burning | 180 | 46.4 mi | |
| 2000 | Arson/incendiarism | 170 | 38.2 mi | |
| 2000 | Debris and open burning | 170 | 31.7 mi | |
| 2006 | Debris and open burning | 165 | 47.9 mi | |
| 2012 | Debris and open burning | 160 | 42.4 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 Wisconsin cities with population within ±25% of Spooner. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
1 departments report to NFIRS for incidents in Spooner.
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.