In 2025, fire departments serving Stratford responded to 18 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $85K 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 67% of all calls.
Aug peaks. Feb dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
116 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2022. $612K cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 18 | — | |
| 2022 | 33 | +83.3% | |
| 2023 | 23 | -30.3% | |
| 2024 | 24 | +4.3% | |
| 2025 | 18 | -25.0% |
For the 6 building fires Stratford departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 36 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 | 5 | 13.9% | |
| 2 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 5 | 13.9% | |
| 3 | Undetermined | 5 | 13.9% | |
| 4 | Other | 2 | 5.6% | |
| 5 | Cooking area, kitchen | 2 | 5.6% | |
| 6 | Processing/manufacturing area, workroom | 2 | 5.6% | |
| 7 | Equipment or service area, other | 2 | 5.6% | |
| 8 | Wall surface: exterior | 2 | 5.6% | |
| 9 | Cargo/trunk area - all vehicles | 2 | 5.6% | |
| 10 | Outside area, other | 2 | 5.6% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 7 | 19.4% |
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 Stratford mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 18 | 50.0% | |
| 2 | Heat source: other | 4 | 11.1% | |
| 3 | Hot ember or ash | 4 | 11.1% | |
| 4 | Flying brand, ember, spark | 2 | 5.6% | |
| 5 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 1 | 2.8% | |
| 6 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 1 | 2.8% | |
| 7 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 1 | 2.8% | |
| 8 | Heat, spark from friction | 1 | 2.8% | |
| 9 | Match | 1 | 2.8% | |
| 10 | Lightning | 1 | 2.8% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 2 | 5.6% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Stratford departments in 2025. These 3 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $85,000 | Off-road vehicle or heavy equipment fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 2 | $50,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $12,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Stratford sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 3,292 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1994 | Recreation and ceremony | 553 | 45.3 mi | |
| 1997 | Debris and open burning | 300 | 40.1 mi | |
| 1998 | Recreation and ceremony | 250 | 46.5 mi | |
| 1996 | Smoking | 187 | 11.1 mi | |
| 2000 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 170 | 36.0 mi | |
| 1998 | Arson/incendiarism | 160 | 40.7 mi | |
| 2008 | Arson/incendiarism | 153 | 11.3 mi | |
| 2003 | Recreation and ceremony | 113 | 36.0 mi | |
| 2005 | Debris and open burning | 112 | 48.1 mi | |
| 2004 | Railroad operations and maintenance | 109 | 22.8 mi | |
| 2018 | Arson/incendiarism | 104 | 38.7 mi | |
| 2012 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 101 | 27.5 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 | 54484 | 116 |
Six Wisconsin cities with population within ±25% of Stratford. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
1 departments report to NFIRS for incidents in Stratford.
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.