In 2025, fire departments serving Viroqua responded to 128 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 69% of all calls.
Feb peaks. Dec dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
565 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2025. $2.6M cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 118 | — | |
| 2022 | 114 | -3.4% | |
| 2023 | 92 | -19.3% | |
| 2024 | 113 | +22.8% | |
| 2025 | 128 | +13.3% |
For the 22 building fires Viroqua departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 98 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 | 82 | 83.7% | |
| 2 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 2 | 2.0% | |
| 3 | Wildland, woods | 2 | 2.0% | |
| 4 | Other | 1 | 1.0% | |
| 5 | Function area, other | 1 | 1.0% | |
| 6 | Cooking area, kitchen | 1 | 1.0% | |
| 7 | Laundry area, wash house (laundry) | 1 | 1.0% | |
| 8 | Vehicle storage area; garage, carport | 1 | 1.0% | |
| 9 | Wall assembly | 1 | 1.0% | |
| 10 | Wall surface: exterior | 1 | 1.0% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 5 | 5.1% |
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 Viroqua mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 88 | 89.8% | |
| 2 | Hot ember or ash | 3 | 3.1% | |
| 3 | Heat source: other | 2 | 2.0% | |
| 4 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 1 | 1.0% | |
| 5 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 1 | 1.0% | |
| 6 | Fireworks | 1 | 1.0% | |
| 7 | Heat from other open flame or smoking materials | 1 | 1.0% | |
| 8 | Lightning | 1 | 1.0% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Viroqua departments in 2025. These 8 fires alone account for 99% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $250,000 | Building fires | Major | Investigated |
| 2 | $85,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $50,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 4 | $30,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 5 | $30,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 6 | $15,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 7 | $10,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 8 | $10,000 | Off-road vehicle or heavy equipment fire | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Viroqua sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 6,254 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 | 39.1 mi | |
| 2000 | Arson/incendiarism | 1,200 | 48.4 mi | |
| 2003 | Debris and open burning | 384 | 49.3 mi | |
| 2000 | Debris and open burning | 360 | 43.7 mi | |
| 2015 | Railroad operations and maintenance | 337 | 49.9 mi | |
| 2018 | Debris and open burning | 300 | 42.1 mi | |
| 2018 | Debris and open burning | 300 | 38.9 mi | |
| 2012 | Equipment and vehicle use | 195 | 22.2 mi | |
| 2015 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 189 | 31.0 mi | |
| 2012 | Equipment and vehicle use | 166 | 20.0 mi | |
| 1992 | Equipment and vehicle use | 161 | 46.2 mi | |
| 2007 | Recreation and ceremony | 159 | 46.7 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 Viroqua. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
1 departments report to NFIRS for incidents in Viroqua.
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.