In 2025, fire departments serving Wauregan responded to 13 fire and hazmat incidents . Here's the full picture.
Power line down lead by count. Building fires lead by dollars. Together the top five categories make up about 100% of all calls.
Mar peaks. Jan dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
71 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2023. $45K cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 9 | — | |
| 2022 | 16 | +77.8% | |
| 2023 | 17 | +6.2% | |
| 2024 | 16 | -5.9% | |
| 2025 | 13 | -18.8% |
For the 0 building fires Wauregan departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 21 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 | 4 | 19.0% | |
| 2 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 4 | 19.0% | |
| 3 | Storage area, other | 2 | 9.5% | |
| 4 | Conduit, pipe, utility, or ventilation shaft | 2 | 9.5% | |
| 5 | Common room, den, family room, living room, lounge | 1 | 4.8% | |
| 6 | Bedroom - < 5 persons; included are jail or prison | 1 | 4.8% | |
| 7 | Cooking area, kitchen | 1 | 4.8% | |
| 8 | Chute/container - trash, rubbish, waste | 1 | 4.8% | |
| 9 | Vehicle area, other | 1 | 4.8% | |
| 10 | Fuel tank, fuel line | 1 | 4.8% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 3 | 14.3% |
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 Wauregan mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 7 | 33.3% | |
| 2 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 5 | 23.8% | |
| 3 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 2 | 9.5% | |
| 4 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 1 | 4.8% | |
| 5 | Arcing | 1 | 4.8% | |
| 6 | Fireworks | 1 | 4.8% | |
| 7 | Heat from other open flame or smoking materials | 1 | 4.8% | |
| 8 | Heat from undetermined smoking material | 1 | 4.8% | |
| 9 | Match | 1 | 4.8% | |
| 10 | Heat from direct flame, convection currents | 1 | 4.8% |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Wauregan sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 1,481 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1997 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 361 | 32.7 mi | |
| 2012 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 150 | 33.6 mi | |
| 2020 | Recreation and ceremony | 94 | 13.3 mi | |
| 1992 | Misuse of fire by a minor | 75 | 48.1 mi | |
| 1999 | Arson/incendiarism | 51 | 35.9 mi | |
| 1999 | Arson/incendiarism | 50 | 25.9 mi | |
| 1992 | Recreation and ceremony | 50 | 30.2 mi | |
| 1992 | Arson/incendiarism | 50 | 39.7 mi | |
| 2020 | Debris and open burning | 50 | 46.5 mi | |
| 1999 | Arson/incendiarism | 45 | 29.5 mi | |
| 1999 | Arson/incendiarism | 44 | 35.9 mi | |
| 2005 | Arson/incendiarism | 42 | 7.6 mi |
Top 1 ZIP codes by NFIRS incident count across 2021–2025. Each ZIP has its own fire profile — dive in for neighborhood-level context.
| # | ZIP | 5-yr incidents | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 06387 | 71 |
Six Connecticut cities with population within ±25% of Wauregan. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
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.