In 2025, fire departments serving West Milwaukee responded to 28 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $243K 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 78% of all calls.
Aug peaks. Oct dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
106 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2024. $603K cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021* | 8 | — | |
| 2022 | 17 | — | |
| 2023 | 20 | +17.6% | |
| 2024 | 33 | +65.0% | |
| 2025 | 28 | -15.2% |
* Well below West Milwaukee's usual volume. That almost always means one or more departments didn't submit a full year to NFIRS, not that fires dropped, so no year-over-year change is shown for it.
For the 8 building fires West Milwaukee departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 38 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 | 9 | 23.7% | |
| 2 | Cooking area, kitchen | 6 | 15.8% | |
| 3 | Bedroom - < 5 persons; included are jail or prison | 2 | 5.3% | |
| 4 | Chute/container - trash, rubbish, waste | 2 | 5.3% | |
| 5 | Operator/passenger area of transportation equip. | 2 | 5.3% | |
| 6 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 2 | 5.3% | |
| 7 | Outside area, other | 2 | 5.3% | |
| 8 | Highway, parking lot, street: on or near | 2 | 5.3% | |
| 9 | Other | 1 | 2.6% | |
| 10 | Common room, den, family room, living room, lounge | 1 | 2.6% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 9 | 23.7% |
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 West Milwaukee mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 21 | 55.3% | |
| 2 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 6 | 15.8% | |
| 3 | Heat source: other | 2 | 5.3% | |
| 4 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 2 | 5.3% | |
| 5 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 2 | 5.3% | |
| 6 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 2 | 5.3% | |
| 7 | Hot ember or ash | 1 | 2.6% | |
| 8 | Cigarette | 1 | 2.6% | |
| 9 | Flame/torch used for lighting | 1 | 2.6% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by West Milwaukee departments in 2025. These 6 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $243,180 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 2 | $100,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $50,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 4 | $30,000 | Mobile property (vehicle) fire, other | Significant | Investigated |
| 5 | $5,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 6 | $1,500 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. West Milwaukee sits below the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 4,913 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2003 | Arson/incendiarism | 1,100 | 46.7 mi | |
| 2015 | Misuse of fire by a minor | 750 | 43.2 mi | |
| 2003 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 450 | 42.9 mi | |
| 2002 | Natural | 360 | 45.5 mi | |
| 2005 | Debris and open burning | 280 | 48.1 mi | |
| 2012 | Arson/incendiarism | 254 | 47.5 mi | |
| 2018 | Debris and open burning | 252 | 39.8 mi | |
| 2003 | Debris and open burning | 250 | 47.5 mi | |
| 2010 | Natural | 200 | 12.2 mi | |
| 2010 | Natural | 180 | 12.6 mi | |
| 2020 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 100 | 26.3 mi | |
| 2010 | Equipment and vehicle use | 80 | 27.9 mi |
Top 10 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 West Milwaukee. 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.