In 2025, fire departments serving Westfield responded to 35 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $800K 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 77% of all calls.
Mar peaks. Jan dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
202 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2022. $3.5M cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 43 | — | |
| 2022 | 44 | +2.3% | |
| 2023 | 41 | -6.8% | |
| 2024 | 39 | -4.9% | |
| 2025 | 35 | -10.3% |
For the 13 building fires Westfield departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 39 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 | 23.1% | |
| 2 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 7 | 17.9% | |
| 3 | Cooking area, kitchen | 3 | 7.7% | |
| 4 | Other | 2 | 5.1% | |
| 5 | Vehicle storage area; garage, carport | 2 | 5.1% | |
| 6 | Laundry area, wash house (laundry) | 1 | 2.6% | |
| 7 | Processing/manufacturing area, workroom | 1 | 2.6% | |
| 8 | Storage area, other | 1 | 2.6% | |
| 9 | Closet | 1 | 2.6% | |
| 10 | Conduit, pipe, utility, or ventilation shaft | 1 | 2.6% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 11 | 28.2% |
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 Westfield mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 19 | 48.7% | |
| 2 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 8 | 20.5% | |
| 3 | Lightning | 3 | 7.7% | |
| 4 | Arcing | 2 | 5.1% | |
| 5 | Hot ember or ash | 2 | 5.1% | |
| 6 | Heat source: other | 1 | 2.6% | |
| 7 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 1 | 2.6% | |
| 8 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 1 | 2.6% | |
| 9 | Other static discharge | 1 | 2.6% | |
| 10 | Heat spread from another fire, other | 1 | 2.6% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Westfield departments in 2025. These 4 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $800,000 | Forest, woods or wildland fire | Major | Investigated |
| 2 | $100,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $6,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 4 | $1,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Westfield sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 12,924 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2005 | Debris and open burning | 3,410 | 18.4 mi | |
| 1994 | Arson/incendiarism | 1,015 | 45.4 mi | |
| 2014 | Debris and open burning | 829 | 38.5 mi | |
| 1998 | Equipment and vehicle use | 630 | 38.5 mi | |
| 2006 | Debris and open burning | 612 | 41.0 mi | |
| 2003 | Debris and open burning | 572 | 9.7 mi | |
| 2003 | Arson/incendiarism | 484 | 28.1 mi | |
| 2003 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 400 | 43.8 mi | |
| 2019 | Arson/incendiarism | 385 | 41.8 mi | |
| 2003 | Debris and open burning | 384 | 37.6 mi | |
| 2015 | Railroad operations and maintenance | 366 | 49.4 mi | |
| 2014 | Debris and open burning | 364 | 47.1 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 | 53964 | 202 |
Six Wisconsin cities with population within ±25% of Westfield. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
5 departments report to NFIRS for incidents in Westfield.
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.