In 2025, fire departments serving Allendale responded to 76 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $400K building blaze. Here's the full picture.
Building fires lead by count. Building fires lead by dollars. Together the top five categories make up about 71% of all calls.
Aug peaks. Sep dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
425 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2021. $2.1M cumulative property loss. 2 civilian deaths.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 100 | — | |
| 2022 | 90 | -10.0% | |
| 2023 | 83 | -7.8% | |
| 2024 | 76 | -8.4% | |
| 2025 | 76 | +0.0% |
For the 15 building fires Allendale departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 78 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 | 11 | 14.1% | |
| 2 | Cooking area, kitchen | 10 | 12.8% | |
| 3 | Other | 7 | 9.0% | |
| 4 | Wall surface: exterior | 7 | 9.0% | |
| 5 | Laundry area, wash house (laundry) | 5 | 6.4% | |
| 6 | Chute/container - trash, rubbish, waste | 5 | 6.4% | |
| 7 | Common room, den, family room, living room, lounge | 4 | 5.1% | |
| 8 | Undetermined | 4 | 5.1% | |
| 9 | Vehicle storage area; garage, carport | 3 | 3.8% | |
| 10 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 3 | 3.8% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 19 | 24.4% |
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 Allendale mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 17 | 21.8% | |
| 2 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 11 | 14.1% | |
| 3 | Radiated heat from another fire | 8 | 10.3% | |
| 4 | Arcing | 6 | 7.7% | |
| 5 | Heat source: other | 5 | 6.4% | |
| 6 | Hot ember or ash | 5 | 6.4% | |
| 7 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 4 | 5.1% | |
| 8 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 3 | 3.8% | |
| 9 | Cigarette | 3 | 3.8% | |
| 10 | Heat spread from another fire, other | 3 | 3.8% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 13 | 16.7% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Allendale departments in 2025. These 8 fires alone account for 99% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $400,000 | Building fires | Major | Investigated |
| 2 | $100,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $30,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 4 | $20,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 5 | $10,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 6 | $8,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 7 | $6,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 8 | $6,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Allendale sits below the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 2,494 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2003 | Arson/incendiarism | 275 | 25.9 mi | |
| 2010 | Power generation/transmission/distribution | 175 | 22.8 mi | |
| 2003 | Debris and open burning | 162 | 31.9 mi | |
| 1994 | Arson/incendiarism | 151 | 34.4 mi | |
| 1994 | Arson/incendiarism | 150 | 33.4 mi | |
| 1996 | Equipment and vehicle use | 119 | 42.3 mi | |
| 1994 | Recreation and ceremony | 107 | 26.9 mi | |
| 2003 | Arson/incendiarism | 106 | 37.5 mi | |
| 2018 | Arson/incendiarism | 105 | 31.0 mi | |
| 2018 | Arson/incendiarism | 105 | 31.1 mi | |
| 1994 | Debris and open burning | 100 | 41.2 mi | |
| 2003 | Debris and open burning | 96 | 44.1 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 | 49401 | 425 |
Six Michigan cities with population within ±25% of Allendale. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
1 departments report to NFIRS for incidents in Allendale.
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.