In 2025, fire departments serving Verona responded to 74 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $225K building blaze. Here's the full picture.
Cooking fire, confined to container lead by count. Building fires lead by dollars. Together the top five categories make up about 66% of all calls.
Jun peaks. Sep dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
364 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2024. $2.4M cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 68 | — | |
| 2022 | 58 | -14.7% | |
| 2023 | 77 | +32.8% | |
| 2024 | 87 | +13.0% | |
| 2025 | 74 | -14.9% |
For the 9 building fires Verona departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 55 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 | 12 | 21.8% | |
| 2 | Cooking area, kitchen | 9 | 16.4% | |
| 3 | Undetermined | 8 | 14.5% | |
| 4 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 4 | 7.3% | |
| 5 | Laundry area, wash house (laundry) | 3 | 5.5% | |
| 6 | Bathroom, checkroom, lavatory, locker room | 2 | 3.6% | |
| 7 | Ceiling & floor assembly, crawl space b/t stories | 2 | 3.6% | |
| 8 | Highway, parking lot, street: on or near | 2 | 3.6% | |
| 9 | Egress/exit, other | 1 | 1.8% | |
| 10 | Common room, den, family room, living room, lounge | 1 | 1.8% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 11 | 20.0% |
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 Verona mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 25 | 45.5% | |
| 2 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 12 | 21.8% | |
| 3 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 3 | 5.5% | |
| 4 | Arcing | 3 | 5.5% | |
| 5 | Heat from direct flame, convection currents | 3 | 5.5% | |
| 6 | Heat, spark from friction | 2 | 3.6% | |
| 7 | Hot ember or ash | 2 | 3.6% | |
| 8 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 1 | 1.8% | |
| 9 | Molten, hot material | 1 | 1.8% | |
| 10 | Cigarette | 1 | 1.8% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 2 | 3.6% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Verona departments in 2025. These 8 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $225,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 2 | $25,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $15,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 4 | $10,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 5 | $1,200 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 6 | $500 | Cooking fire, confined to container | Significant | Investigated |
| 7 | $500 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 8 | $10 | Cooking fire, confined to container | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Verona sits below the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 8,924 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1999 | Arson/incendiarism | 1,400 | 40.5 mi | |
| 2000 | Equipment and vehicle use | 1,100 | 20.2 mi | |
| 2003 | Arson/incendiarism | 1,100 | 39.5 mi | |
| 2009 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 617 | 22.8 mi | |
| 1999 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 580 | 20.9 mi | |
| 2016 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 500 | 35.4 mi | |
| 2003 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 500 | 14.6 mi | |
| 2003 | Arson/incendiarism | 484 | 42.1 mi | |
| 2003 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 300 | 42.3 mi | |
| 2003 | Arson/incendiarism | 290 | 32.1 mi | |
| 2012 | Arson/incendiarism | 254 | 31.8 mi | |
| 2018 | Debris and open burning | 252 | 39.4 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 Verona. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
1 departments report to NFIRS for incidents in Verona.
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.