In 2025, fire departments serving Stevens Point responded to 181 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $75K building blaze. Here's the full picture.
Unauthorized burning lead by count. Building fires lead by dollars. Together the top five categories make up about 65% of all calls.
Nov peaks. Feb dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
873 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2023. $2.9M cumulative property loss. 1 civilian deaths.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 110 | — | |
| 2022 | 178 | +61.8% | |
| 2023 | 213 | +19.7% | |
| 2024 | 191 | -10.3% | |
| 2025 | 181 | -5.2% |
For the 26 building fires Stevens Point departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 144 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 | 22 | 15.3% | |
| 2 | Cooking area, kitchen | 19 | 13.2% | |
| 3 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 17 | 11.8% | |
| 4 | Vehicle storage area; garage, carport | 10 | 6.9% | |
| 5 | Attic: vacant, crawl space above top story, cupola | 7 | 4.9% | |
| 6 | Cargo/trunk area - all vehicles | 7 | 4.9% | |
| 7 | Outside area, other | 6 | 4.2% | |
| 8 | Wall surface: exterior | 5 | 3.5% | |
| 9 | Other | 4 | 2.8% | |
| 10 | Common room, den, family room, living room, lounge | 4 | 2.8% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 43 | 29.9% |
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 Stevens Point mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 42 | 29.2% | |
| 2 | Arcing | 17 | 11.8% | |
| 3 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 15 | 10.4% | |
| 4 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 14 | 9.7% | |
| 5 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 13 | 9.0% | |
| 6 | Heat from other open flame or smoking materials | 6 | 4.2% | |
| 7 | Heat source: other | 5 | 3.5% | |
| 8 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 5 | 3.5% | |
| 9 | Heat from direct flame, convection currents | 5 | 3.5% | |
| 10 | Cigarette lighter | 4 | 2.8% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 18 | 12.5% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Stevens Point departments in 2025. These 8 fires alone account for 86% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $75,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 2 | $50,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $50,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 4 | $50,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 5 | $50,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 6 | $25,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 7 | $20,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 8 | $20,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Stevens Point sits below the national average for incidents per resident.
6 fire-related casualties recorded in NFIRS Module 11 across the 2021–2025 window. Age, gender, and severity are coarse-binned — no individual identification possible.
| Age | Count | |
|---|---|---|
| 0-9 | 0 | |
| 10-19 | 0 | |
| 20-29 | 4 | |
| 30-39 | 1 | |
| 40-49 | 1 | |
| 50-59 | 0 | |
| 60-69 | 0 | |
| 70-79 | 0 | |
| 80+ | 0 |
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 8,968 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2005 | Debris and open burning | 3,410 | 33.2 mi | |
| 2003 | Debris and open burning | 572 | 39.8 mi | |
| 2019 | Arson/incendiarism | 385 | 45.4 mi | |
| 2003 | Debris and open burning | 384 | 44.7 mi | |
| 2015 | Railroad operations and maintenance | 366 | 49.7 mi | |
| 2015 | Railroad operations and maintenance | 337 | 44.5 mi | |
| 1999 | Debris and open burning | 320 | 29.2 mi | |
| 2020 | Arson/incendiarism | 320 | 45.4 mi | |
| 1997 | Debris and open burning | 300 | 12.3 mi | |
| 2014 | Debris and open burning | 275 | 46.4 mi | |
| 2020 | Equipment and vehicle use | 262 | 44.6 mi | |
| 2020 | Recreation and ceremony | 234 | 42.2 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 Stevens Point. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
3 departments report to NFIRS for incidents in Stevens Point.
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.