In 2025, fire departments serving Superior responded to 186 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $275K 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 51% of all calls.
Mar peaks. Nov dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
1,062 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2022. $4.2M cumulative property loss. 1 civilian deaths.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 202 | — | |
| 2022 | 242 | +19.8% | |
| 2023 | 212 | -12.4% | |
| 2024 | 220 | +3.8% | |
| 2025 | 186 | -15.5% |
For the 28 building fires Superior departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 333 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 | 51 | 15.3% | |
| 2 | Outside area, other | 50 | 15.0% | |
| 3 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 34 | 10.2% | |
| 4 | Other | 30 | 9.0% | |
| 5 | Cooking area, kitchen | 21 | 6.3% | |
| 6 | Function area, other | 13 | 3.9% | |
| 7 | Vehicle storage area; garage, carport | 12 | 3.6% | |
| 8 | Vehicle area, other | 11 | 3.3% | |
| 9 | Bedroom - < 5 persons; included are jail or prison | 8 | 2.4% | |
| 10 | Wall surface: exterior | 8 | 2.4% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 95 | 28.5% |
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 Superior mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 185 | 55.6% | |
| 2 | Arcing | 19 | 5.7% | |
| 3 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 18 | 5.4% | |
| 4 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 14 | 4.2% | |
| 5 | Heat source: other | 13 | 3.9% | |
| 6 | Heat from other open flame or smoking materials | 9 | 2.7% | |
| 7 | Cigarette | 9 | 2.7% | |
| 8 | Match | 9 | 2.7% | |
| 9 | Hot ember or ash | 8 | 2.4% | |
| 10 | Cigarette lighter | 6 | 1.8% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 43 | 12.9% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Superior departments in 2025. These 8 fires alone account for 84% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $275,000 | Building fires | Major | Investigated |
| 2 | $150,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $70,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 4 | $60,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 5 | $50,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 6 | $50,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 7 | $40,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 8 | $25,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Superior sits below the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 12,856 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 | 34.8 mi | |
| 1998 | Railroad operations and maintenance | 950 | 45.8 mi | |
| 2003 | Railroad operations and maintenance | 732 | 49.0 mi | |
| 2007 | Equipment and vehicle use | 487 | 12.6 mi | |
| 2000 | Debris and open burning | 275 | 49.3 mi | |
| 1999 | Power generation/transmission/distribution | 258 | 39.4 mi | |
| 1998 | Power generation/transmission/distribution | 240 | 37.6 mi | |
| 2003 | Railroad operations and maintenance | 240 | 47.6 mi | |
| 1995 | Arson/incendiarism | 216 | 41.1 mi | |
| 1993 | Debris and open burning | 180 | 48.6 mi | |
| 2007 | Equipment and vehicle use | 171 | 11.3 mi | |
| 2000 | Debris and open burning | 170 | 34.6 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 Superior. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
2 departments report to NFIRS for incidents in Superior.
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.