In 2025, fire departments serving Thorp responded to 26 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $50K 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 62% of all calls.
Nov peaks. Aug dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
158 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2023. $2.0M cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 31 | — | |
| 2022 | 20 | -35.5% | |
| 2023 | 49 | +145.0% | |
| 2024 | 32 | -34.7% | |
| 2025 | 26 | -18.8% |
For the 6 building fires Thorp departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 50 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 | 10 | 20.0% | |
| 2 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 5 | 10.0% | |
| 3 | Outside area, other | 4 | 8.0% | |
| 4 | Cooking area, kitchen | 3 | 6.0% | |
| 5 | Storage area, other | 3 | 6.0% | |
| 6 | Vehicle storage area; garage, carport | 3 | 6.0% | |
| 7 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 3 | 6.0% | |
| 8 | Storage room, area, tank, or bin | 2 | 4.0% | |
| 9 | Chute/container - trash, rubbish, waste | 2 | 4.0% | |
| 10 | Equipment or service area, other | 2 | 4.0% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 13 | 26.0% |
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 Thorp mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 19 | 38.0% | |
| 2 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 6 | 12.0% | |
| 3 | Heat source: other | 4 | 8.0% | |
| 4 | Arcing | 4 | 8.0% | |
| 5 | Match | 3 | 6.0% | |
| 6 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 2 | 4.0% | |
| 7 | Heat from other open flame or smoking materials | 2 | 4.0% | |
| 8 | Flame/torch used for lighting | 2 | 4.0% | |
| 9 | Radiated heat from another fire | 2 | 4.0% | |
| 10 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 1 | 2.0% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 5 | 10.0% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Thorp departments in 2025. These 2 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $50,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 2 | $2,500 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Thorp sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 2,581 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 | 18.1 mi | |
| 1998 | Recreation and ceremony | 250 | 19.9 mi | |
| 1996 | Smoking | 187 | 48.1 mi | |
| 2008 | Arson/incendiarism | 153 | 48.5 mi | |
| 2018 | Debris and open burning | 124 | 41.0 mi | |
| 2018 | Debris and open burning | 122 | 39.5 mi | |
| 2003 | Recreation and ceremony | 113 | 10.2 mi | |
| 2018 | Arson/incendiarism | 104 | 20.4 mi | |
| 2018 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 89 | 35.3 mi | |
| 1993 | Arson/incendiarism | 75 | 31.3 mi | |
| 1994 | Equipment and vehicle use | 74 | 33.0 mi | |
| 1996 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 65 | 35.8 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 Thorp. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
1 departments report to NFIRS for incidents in Thorp.
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.