In 2025, fire departments serving Sussex responded to 54 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $250K 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.
Jul peaks. Nov dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
267 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2024. $694K cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 39 | — | |
| 2022 | 53 | +35.9% | |
| 2023 | 58 | +9.4% | |
| 2024 | 63 | +8.6% | |
| 2025 | 54 | -14.3% |
For the 12 building fires Sussex departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 48 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 | Other | 5 | 10.4% | |
| 2 | Cooking area, kitchen | 5 | 10.4% | |
| 3 | Vehicle storage area; garage, carport | 5 | 10.4% | |
| 4 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 4 | 8.3% | |
| 5 | Undetermined | 4 | 8.3% | |
| 6 | Common room, den, family room, living room, lounge | 2 | 4.2% | |
| 7 | Chute/container - trash, rubbish, waste | 2 | 4.2% | |
| 8 | Duct: hvac, cable, exhaust, heating, or AC | 2 | 4.2% | |
| 9 | Equipment or service area, other | 2 | 4.2% | |
| 10 | Outside area, other | 2 | 4.2% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 15 | 31.2% |
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 Sussex mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 13 | 27.1% | |
| 2 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 9 | 18.8% | |
| 3 | Heat source: other | 6 | 12.5% | |
| 4 | Hot ember or ash | 6 | 12.5% | |
| 5 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 4 | 8.3% | |
| 6 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 3 | 6.2% | |
| 7 | Arcing | 2 | 4.2% | |
| 8 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 1 | 2.1% | |
| 9 | Heat, spark from friction | 1 | 2.1% | |
| 10 | Heat from other open flame or smoking materials | 1 | 2.1% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 2 | 4.2% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Sussex departments in 2025. These 6 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $250,000 | Building fires | Major | Investigated |
| 2 | $60,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $25,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 4 | $3,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 5 | $1,000 | Cooking fire, confined to container | Significant | Investigated |
| 6 | $500 | Fire, other | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Sussex sits below the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 8,706 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2003 | Arson/incendiarism | 1,100 | 32.1 mi | |
| 1994 | Arson/incendiarism | 1,015 | 38.5 mi | |
| 2014 | Debris and open burning | 829 | 48.1 mi | |
| 1998 | Equipment and vehicle use | 630 | 48.2 mi | |
| 2006 | Debris and open burning | 612 | 42.0 mi | |
| 2003 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 508 | 46.2 mi | |
| 2014 | Debris and open burning | 364 | 35.8 mi | |
| 2002 | Natural | 360 | 30.6 mi | |
| 2002 | Arson/incendiarism | 325 | 35.8 mi | |
| 2003 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 300 | 49.2 mi | |
| 2003 | Arson/incendiarism | 290 | 37.3 mi | |
| 2005 | Debris and open burning | 280 | 33.3 mi |
Top 4 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 Sussex. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
2 departments report to NFIRS for incidents in Sussex.
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.