In 2025, fire departments serving Williams Bay responded to 15 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $60K building blaze. Here's the full picture.
Gas leak (natural gas or LPG) lead by count. Building fires lead by dollars. Together the top five categories make up about 93% of all calls.
Feb peaks. Aug dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
113 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2024. $70K cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 15 | — | |
| 2022 | 19 | +26.7% | |
| 2023 | 28 | +47.4% | |
| 2024 | 36 | +28.6% | |
| 2025 | 15 | -58.3% |
For the 4 building fires Williams Bay departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 13 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 | Outside area, other | 3 | 23.1% | |
| 2 | Undetermined | 3 | 23.1% | |
| 3 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 2 | 15.4% | |
| 4 | Corridor, mall | 1 | 7.7% | |
| 5 | Function area, other | 1 | 7.7% | |
| 6 | Cooking area, kitchen | 1 | 7.7% | |
| 7 | Substructure area or space, crawl space | 1 | 7.7% | |
| 8 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 1 | 7.7% |
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 Williams Bay mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 6 | 46.2% | |
| 2 | Heat source: other | 2 | 15.4% | |
| 3 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 1 | 7.7% | |
| 4 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 1 | 7.7% | |
| 5 | Arcing | 1 | 7.7% | |
| 6 | Hot ember or ash | 1 | 7.7% | |
| 7 | Multiple heat sources including multiple ignitions | 1 | 7.7% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Williams Bay departments in 2025. These 1 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $60,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Williams Bay sits below the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 6,794 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | Equipment and vehicle use | 1,100 | 40.4 mi | |
| 2003 | Arson/incendiarism | 1,100 | 48.6 mi | |
| 2015 | Misuse of fire by a minor | 750 | 39.8 mi | |
| 1999 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 580 | 39.8 mi | |
| 2016 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 500 | 39.9 mi | |
| 2003 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 450 | 38.5 mi | |
| 2003 | Arson/incendiarism | 290 | 46.6 mi | |
| 2012 | Arson/incendiarism | 254 | 35.8 mi | |
| 2018 | Debris and open burning | 252 | 31.8 mi | |
| 2010 | Natural | 200 | 29.6 mi | |
| 2010 | Natural | 180 | 29.2 mi | |
| 2004 | Smoking | 169 | 39.8 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 | 53191 | 113 |
Six Wisconsin cities with population within ±25% of Williams Bay. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
1 departments report to NFIRS for incidents in Williams Bay.
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.