In 2025, fire departments serving Tomahawk responded to 18 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 83% of all calls.
Jan peaks. Aug dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
137 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2023. $884K cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 32 | — | |
| 2022 | 27 | -15.6% | |
| 2023 | 40 | +48.1% | |
| 2024 | 20 | -50.0% | |
| 2025 | 18 | -10.0% |
For the 7 building fires Tomahawk departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 24 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 | 6 | 25.0% | |
| 2 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 4 | 16.7% | |
| 3 | Vehicle storage area; garage, carport | 3 | 12.5% | |
| 4 | Function area, other | 1 | 4.2% | |
| 5 | Dining room, cafeteria bar area, beverage service | 1 | 4.2% | |
| 6 | Cooking area, kitchen | 1 | 4.2% | |
| 7 | Laundry area, wash house (laundry) | 1 | 4.2% | |
| 8 | Equipment or service area, other | 1 | 4.2% | |
| 9 | Structural area, other | 1 | 4.2% | |
| 10 | Substructure area or space, crawl space | 1 | 4.2% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 4 | 16.7% |
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 Tomahawk mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 12 | 50.0% | |
| 2 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 4 | 16.7% | |
| 3 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 2 | 8.3% | |
| 4 | Arcing | 2 | 8.3% | |
| 5 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 2 | 8.3% | |
| 6 | Hot ember or ash | 1 | 4.2% | |
| 7 | Flame/torch used for lighting | 1 | 4.2% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Tomahawk departments in 2025. These 1 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $50,000 | Mobile property (vehicle) fire, other | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Tomahawk sits below the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 1,422 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | Debris and open burning | 98 | 29.4 mi | |
| 2007 | Arson/incendiarism | 94 | 46.3 mi | |
| 2001 | Equipment and vehicle use | 88 | 32.6 mi | |
| 2007 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 82 | 19.6 mi | |
| 2006 | Natural | 80 | 36.4 mi | |
| 2000 | Natural | 79 | 41.4 mi | |
| 1992 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 77 | 24.9 mi | |
| 1992 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 68 | 25.7 mi | |
| 1992 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 68 | 34.0 mi | |
| 2007 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 67 | 42.7 mi | |
| 2008 | Equipment and vehicle use | 54 | 42.6 mi | |
| 2007 | Arson/incendiarism | 48 | 18.7 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 Tomahawk. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
3 departments report to NFIRS for incidents in Tomahawk.
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.