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Risk & Response

Lafayette County, WI

Community risk profile | NRI Score: 76.8 Relatively High

16,942
Population
10
Departments
11
Stations
5
Census Tracts

Natural Hazard Loss Profile

Expected annual loss across the 18 natural hazards in FEMA's National Risk Index. Life safety is expressed in fatality-equivalents, combining expected deaths and injuries. Property loss counts building damage only, not agriculture.

Natural Hazard Life Safety
0.44
expected fatality-equivalents per year, natural hazards only
51st highest of 72
Life Safety per 100k
2.60
natural hazard fatality-equivalents per 100,000 residents
11th highest of 72
Natural Hazard Property Loss
$5.1M
expected building loss per year, natural hazards only
61st highest of 72
Property Loss per Resident
$302
natural hazard building loss per resident per year
33rd highest of 72

These figures cover natural hazards only. Structure fire, EMS, and motor vehicle incidents are not in the National Risk Index, so this is not an all-cause life safety measure. For Lafayette County, the largest single contributor is Cold Wave, 83% of the life-safety total.

Lafayette County carries an expected under 1 natural hazard fatality-equivalents and $5.1M in building loss per year. Rank chips compare the 72 Wisconsin counties. Nationally, Lafayette County ranks 1185th of 3,222 U.S. counties for life-safety loss, 396th for life safety per 100k residents, 2217th for property loss, and 1835th for property loss per resident. Computed from census tract data covering every resident, independent of fire department boundaries.

Add fire mortality, cause, and loss

Natural hazard exposure is only part of the risk. Fire deaths and injuries, cause of ignition, and dollar loss per incident come from NERIS incident reporting, which grows as departments serving Lafayette County enroll. Our Regional tier adds that data for the departments your jurisdiction sponsors, next to public risk and NERIS adoption for every department in Lafayette County.

Talk to us about Lafayette County See what a department sees

Loss Breakdown

43%
50%
7%
Property (buildings): $5.1M (42.6%)
Life safety: $6.0M (50.2%)
Agriculture: $869K (7.2%)

Total expected annual loss: $12,005,485 per year. Life safety is shown here in dollars, at FEMA's $13.7M value of statistical life, so the three shares sum to the total.

Agriculture is 7% of expected annual loss in Lafayette County, so total loss overstates property loss here. The property figure above counts building loss only.

Hazards Ranked Two Ways

The hazard that threatens people is often not the hazard that destroys buildings. Both columns cover the same 18 hazards over the same year.

By life-safety loss ($/yr)

Cold Wave
$5.0M
Tornado
$515K
Heat Wave
$237K
Strong Wind
$155K
Lightning
$48K
Ice Storm
$20K

By property loss ($/yr)

Inland Flooding
$3.5M
Tornado
$652K
Hail
$547K
Strong Wind
$333K
Ice Storm
$35K
Earthquake
$28K

Census Tract Risk Map

Shaded by quintile across the census tracts in Lafayette County. Gray tracts have no modeled loss or no resident population. Per-resident figures on this map use the National Risk Index 2020 tract population.

Fire Service Profile

10%
80%
10%
Combination: 10% (1)
Volunteer: 80% (8)
Unreported: 10% (1)
Residents per Station
1,540
census population per registered station
Stations per 100k
64.9
registered stations per 100,000 residents

Department composition covers the 10 departments registered in NERIS Public for Lafayette County, WI. Departments that have not registered are not counted. Station coverage divides census population by registered stations; department service areas overlap, so their populations are not summed.

Department Rankings

Fire and EMS departments serving Lafayette County. Click column headers to sort.

NRI Rating is from FEMA's National Risk Index, which measures community risk across 18 natural hazards using expected annual losses, social vulnerability, and community resilience. Life-Safety Loss uses FEMA's Value of Statistical Life ($13.7M per expected fatality) to estimate annual risk to human life.

Department boundaries and station counts are self-reported through NERIS Public and may not reflect current service areas. Population and Life-Safety Loss reflect each department's full jurisdiction. County-level risk metrics are computed from census tract data and are not affected by boundary accuracy. See full methodology.

Showing 10 departments
Department ▲ Est. Population ▲ Life-Safety Loss ▼ NRI Rating ▲ Stations ▲
Darlington Community Fire Department 21,146 $5.3M Relatively High 1
Platteville Fire Department 22,810 $3.8M Relatively High 2
Shullsburg Fire Department 10,052 $3.5M Relatively High 1
Belmont Fire Protection District 7,483 $2.7M Very High 1
Cuba City Volunteer Fire Department 12,808 $2.5M Relatively High 1
Benton Fire Department 6,720 $2.3M Relatively High 1
Wiota Fire Department 6,312 $2.2M Relatively High 1
Woodford Fire Department 6,312 $2.2M Relatively High 1
Gratiot Volunteer Fire Department 3,332 $1.2M Relatively High 1
South Wayne Fire Department 3,332 $1.2M Relatively High 1
No departments match your search.

Risk Snapshot

11.9%
Poverty Rate
20.4%
Age 65+
11.4%
Disability Rate
10.5%
Uninsured
67.3%
Pre-1980 Housing
4.5%
Mobile Homes
6.5%
Vacancy Rate
8.4%
Wood Heat
$75,983
Median HH Income

FEMA Disaster Declarations

3
Last 10 Years
7
Last 25 Years
Severe Storm
Most Frequent

Every department in your region, on one briefing

Our Regional tier gives state fire marshals and county fire authorities one briefing across every department in the jurisdiction: priority tracts ranked by risk and demand, NERIS adoption by county, and a quarterly report with a page per department. Response times appear for the departments you sponsor. Free 90-day pilot.

Explore the Regional Tier See the Response Demo