ZIP 53523 recorded 40 fire and hazmat incidents in 2025, 282 across 2021–2025. Primary county: Dane County, WI. FEMA NRI rates wildfire risk here as High.
282 incidents from 2021 through 2025 inside this ZIP.
| Year | Incidents | |
|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 56 | |
| 2022 | 62 | |
| 2023 | 55 | |
| 2024 | 69 | |
| 2025 | 40 |
Jun peaks. Feb dips. Aggregated across all 5 years inside this ZIP.
Top 5 NFIRS incident types for ZIP 53523 across 2021–2025.
| # | Incident type | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Power line down | 52 | 18.4% | |
| 2 | Building fires | 44 | 15.6% | |
| 3 | Gas leak (natural gas or LPG) | 24 | 8.5% | |
| 4 | Arcing, shorted electrical equipment | 21 | 7.4% | |
| 5 | Authorized controlled burning | 18 | 6.4% |
For the 8 building fires reported here in 2025, here's how investigators classified ignition cause.
NFIRS Area of Origin for ZIP 53523 fires across 2021–2025.
| # | Area of origin | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 14 | 20.0% | |
| 2 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 11 | 15.7% | |
| 3 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 11 | 15.7% | |
| 4 | Outside area, other | 9 | 12.9% | |
| 5 | Cooking area, kitchen | 6 | 8.6% | |
| 6 | Vehicle storage area; garage, carport | 2 | 2.9% | |
| 7 | Roof surface: exterior | 2 | 2.9% | |
| 8 | Vehicle area, other | 2 | 2.9% | |
| 9 | All other areas | 13 | 18.6% |
NFIRS HEAT_SOURC code — the physical thing that started the fire.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 24 | 34.3% | |
| 2 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 6 | 8.6% | |
| 3 | Hot ember or ash | 5 | 7.1% | |
| 4 | Heat source: other | 4 | 5.7% | |
| 5 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 4 | 5.7% | |
| 6 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 4 | 5.7% | |
| 7 | Arcing | 4 | 5.7% | |
| 8 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 4 | 5.7% | |
| 9 | All other sources | 15 | 21.4% |
Largest single-incident losses in ZIP 53523 across 2021–2025. These 8 fires alone account for 842% of the ZIP's 2025 reported total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Year | Severity |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $150,000 | Building fires | 2024 | Significant |
| 2 | $100,000 | Building fires | 2021 | Significant |
| 3 | $100,000 | Building fires | 2022 | Significant |
| 4 | $100,000 | Building fires | 2023 | Significant |
| 5 | $73,500 | Building fires | 2023 | Significant |
| 6 | $50,000 | Building fires | 2021 | Significant |
| 7 | $50,000 | Building fires | 2022 | Significant |
| 8 | $50,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | 2025 | Significant |
Some ZIPs span multiple cities. Ranked by 5-yr NFIRS incidents inside ZIP 53523.
| # | City | 5-yr incidents | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Cambridge | 161 | |
| 2 | Lake Mills | 8 | |
| 3 | Clinton | 1 |
Some ZIPs span multiple counties. The primary above is the largest by population weight; secondary counties are below.
| County | State | Weight | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jefferson County | WI | 1.00 | FIPS 55055 |
The figures above are historical. For today's air quality, fire-weather warnings, and active fires, go to the official sources.
NFIRS reports each fire incident with a 5-digit address ZIP. We aggregate those rows directly to produce ZIP-level totals — 282 incidents in this ZIP across 2021–2025. Building-fire breakdowns (Area of Origin, Heat Source, ignition cause) only count fires investigators classified beyond the basic incident report. Because NFIRS reporting is voluntary, totals are a strong indicator rather than a complete census.