In 2025, fire departments serving Woodruff responded to 21 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $500 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 76% of all calls.
Mar peaks. Jan dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
82 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2025. $90K cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 13 | — | |
| 2022 | 19 | +46.2% | |
| 2023 | 13 | -31.6% | |
| 2024 | 16 | +23.1% | |
| 2025 | 21 | +31.2% |
For the 4 building fires Woodruff departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 10 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 | 2 | 20.0% | |
| 2 | Other | 1 | 10.0% | |
| 3 | Function area, other | 1 | 10.0% | |
| 4 | Bedroom - < 5 persons; included are jail or prison | 1 | 10.0% | |
| 5 | Cooking area, kitchen | 1 | 10.0% | |
| 6 | Storage: supplies or tools; dead storage | 1 | 10.0% | |
| 7 | Heating room or area, water heater area | 1 | 10.0% | |
| 8 | Wall surface: exterior | 1 | 10.0% | |
| 9 | Outside area, other | 1 | 10.0% |
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 Woodruff mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 2 | 20.0% | |
| 2 | Undetermined | 2 | 20.0% | |
| 3 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 1 | 10.0% | |
| 4 | Arcing | 1 | 10.0% | |
| 5 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 1 | 10.0% | |
| 6 | Cigarette | 1 | 10.0% | |
| 7 | Backfire from internal combustion engine | 1 | 10.0% | |
| 8 | Heat spread from another fire, other | 1 | 10.0% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Woodruff departments in 2025. These 1 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $500 | Off-road vehicle or heavy equipment fire | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Woodruff sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 1,422 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2007 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 120 | 49.4 mi | |
| 2000 | Debris and open burning | 98 | 27.7 mi | |
| 2007 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 82 | 48.7 mi | |
| 2006 | Natural | 80 | 16.0 mi | |
| 2000 | Natural | 79 | 23.4 mi | |
| 1992 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 77 | 32.2 mi | |
| 2012 | Power generation/transmission/distribution | 72 | 24.9 mi | |
| 1992 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 68 | 32.5 mi | |
| 1992 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 68 | 47.9 mi | |
| 2007 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 67 | 24.4 mi | |
| 2012 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 53 | 40.3 mi | |
| 2007 | Arson/incendiarism | 48 | 47.8 mi |
Top 3 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 Woodruff. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
1 departments report to NFIRS for incidents in Woodruff.
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.