In 2025, fire departments serving Whitelaw responded to 14 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $15K building blaze. Here's the full picture.
Incomplete 2025 data. Whitelaw's departments reported 14 incidents to NFIRS for 2025, against about 27 in a typical year, so 2025 figures on this page undercount. The 2021–2025 totals are the better guide.
Grass fire lead by count. Building fires lead by dollars. Together the top five categories make up about 93% of all calls.
Mar peaks. Feb dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
135 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2023. $349K cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 21 | — | |
| 2022 | 31 | +47.6% | |
| 2023 | 45 | +45.2% | |
| 2024 | 24 | -46.7% | |
| 2025* | 14 | — |
* Well below Whitelaw'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 0 building fires Whitelaw departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 25 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 | 10 | 40.0% | |
| 2 | Storage area, other | 2 | 8.0% | |
| 3 | Vehicle storage area; garage, carport | 2 | 8.0% | |
| 4 | Outside area, other | 2 | 8.0% | |
| 5 | Office | 1 | 4.0% | |
| 6 | Storage: supplies or tools; dead storage | 1 | 4.0% | |
| 7 | Structural area, other | 1 | 4.0% | |
| 8 | Vehicle area, other | 1 | 4.0% | |
| 9 | Cargo/trunk area - all vehicles | 1 | 4.0% | |
| 10 | Courtyard, patio, porch, terrace | 1 | 4.0% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 3 | 12.0% |
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 Whitelaw mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 10 | 40.0% | |
| 2 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 4 | 16.0% | |
| 3 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 3 | 12.0% | |
| 4 | Heat source: other | 2 | 8.0% | |
| 5 | Match | 2 | 8.0% | |
| 6 | Heat from other open flame or smoking materials | 1 | 4.0% | |
| 7 | Cigarette lighter | 1 | 4.0% | |
| 8 | Flame/torch used for lighting | 1 | 4.0% | |
| 9 | Chemical reaction | 1 | 4.0% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Whitelaw departments in 2025. These 1 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $15,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Whitelaw sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 3,305 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2003 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 508 | 41.8 mi | |
| 2003 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 400 | 41.0 mi | |
| 2019 | Arson/incendiarism | 385 | 46.4 mi | |
| 2015 | Railroad operations and maintenance | 366 | 40.1 mi | |
| 2020 | Arson/incendiarism | 320 | 46.4 mi | |
| 2014 | Debris and open burning | 275 | 46.0 mi | |
| 2009 | Debris and open burning | 140 | 46.9 mi | |
| 1999 | Smoking | 100 | 40.4 mi | |
| 1994 | Arson/incendiarism | 85 | 9.0 mi | |
| 2014 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 72 | 47.9 mi | |
| 1999 | Recreation and ceremony | 65 | 46.8 mi | |
| 2005 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 57 | 43.6 mi |
Top 5 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 Whitelaw. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
2 departments report to NFIRS for incidents in Whitelaw.
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.